Marie De France’s portrayal of “Bisclavert” is a commentary on the expected social roles during the mediaeval time period and how deviations from upholding these expectations lead to undesirable consequences. Loyalty is when a person provides continues support to someone and remains faithful to that individual. Her allusions throughout the text towards the importance of maintaining loyalty and chivalry allows one to determine the significance that these values held in mediaeval-society. All major characters in this lai do not uphold to their social roles, and as a result are subjected to negative consequences. For example, the betrayal of a husband by the wife was deemed to be prohibited and a harsh punishment would have been considered justifiable.
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When Bisclavret’s wife suspects that Bisclavert is being unfaithful when he disappears, she confronts him. The wife is so afraid that Bisclavret has been disloyal that she fears that she “…could die of this very soon” (Marie ll 48). He is reluctant to tell her at first where he goes because, “harm will come to me… / because I’d lose your love” (Marie ll 54-5) but after the wife persuades Bisclavret to reveal his motive for leaving, he goes on to explain that he spends his nights in the woods because he turns into a werewolf. Right from the beginning of the story, there are questions whether a husband’s loyalty to remain faithful to his wife are maintained. The wife’s concern is quite reasonable, since she is concerned that the husband’s loyalty towards her is being violated. Although it is intended to view Bisclavert as the protagonist of the lai, Bisclavret’s revelation of being capable of turning into a werewolf can be considered evidence that he has not upheld a husband’s role of being truthful to his wife. Bisclavret was not forthcoming about his identity whilst he and the wife were together and his identity is only revealed after a serious inquiry by his wife. While Bisclavret’s rationale for concealment of his identity is so that he does not “lose your [wife’s] love” (Marie ll 54-5) or is ostracized from society seems reasonable, it is still a direct violation of the …show more content…
The knight is ecstatic “and accepted her promise, / and she bound him to her by oath” (Marie ll 118-9). Hypocritically, the wife has already taken an oath with her husband to stay together through thick and thin that she has not maintained. Yet, she makes a similar oath with the knight and whether she will maintain this promise is doubtful judging from her prior decisions. The knight finds Bisclavret’s clothes while Bisclavert is a werewolf so that he is unable to turn back into human form. Interestingly, upon gaining knowledge that her husband turns into a beast her actions that follow can be considered to be more beastly. Her undertaking to not be with a beast leads to her giving in to her own inner beast, which can be thought of as her punishment for being disloyal to her husband. Instead of attempting to understand the reason or history of him turning into a werewolf, she conjures up an idea to get rid of him forever. The driving force of Bisclavret’s wife’s actions that follow could be attributed to her narcissistic libido, or her selfish desire for sexual satisfaction. She could’ve hidden the clothes herself; however, her willingness to be with and exploit someone else whom “she’d never loved” (Marie ll 107) for her own personal gain exemplifies her need for instant sexual satisfaction after her husband is gone. The wife breaks her
When Bisclavret’s wife suspects that Bisclavert is being unfaithful when he disappears, she confronts him. The wife is so afraid that Bisclavret has been disloyal that she fears that she “…could die of this very soon” (Marie ll 48). He is reluctant to tell her at first where he goes because, “harm will come to me… / because I’d lose your love” (Marie ll 54-5) but after the wife persuades Bisclavret to reveal his motive for leaving, he goes on to explain that he spends his nights in the woods because he turns into a werewolf. Right from the beginning of the story, there are questions whether a husband’s loyalty to remain faithful to his wife are maintained. The wife’s concern is quite reasonable, since she is concerned that the husband’s loyalty towards her is being violated. Although it is intended to view Bisclavert as the protagonist of the lai, Bisclavret’s revelation of being capable of turning into a werewolf can be considered evidence that he has not upheld a husband’s role of being truthful to his wife. Bisclavret was not forthcoming about his identity whilst he and the wife were together and his identity is only revealed after a serious inquiry by his wife. While Bisclavret’s rationale for concealment of his identity is so that he does not “lose your [wife’s] love” (Marie ll 54-5) or is ostracized from society seems reasonable, it is still a direct violation of the …show more content…
The knight is ecstatic “and accepted her promise, / and she bound him to her by oath” (Marie ll 118-9). Hypocritically, the wife has already taken an oath with her husband to stay together through thick and thin that she has not maintained. Yet, she makes a similar oath with the knight and whether she will maintain this promise is doubtful judging from her prior decisions. The knight finds Bisclavret’s clothes while Bisclavert is a werewolf so that he is unable to turn back into human form. Interestingly, upon gaining knowledge that her husband turns into a beast her actions that follow can be considered to be more beastly. Her undertaking to not be with a beast leads to her giving in to her own inner beast, which can be thought of as her punishment for being disloyal to her husband. Instead of attempting to understand the reason or history of him turning into a werewolf, she conjures up an idea to get rid of him forever. The driving force of Bisclavret’s wife’s actions that follow could be attributed to her narcissistic libido, or her selfish desire for sexual satisfaction. She could’ve hidden the clothes herself; however, her willingness to be with and exploit someone else whom “she’d never loved” (Marie ll 107) for her own personal gain exemplifies her need for instant sexual satisfaction after her husband is gone. The wife breaks her