"Lanval"

Word Count: 260 

"Lanval" by Marie de France

"A hundred times he begs mercy of her -- / Won't she speak to her dear lover? / He curses his tongue, the heart he couldn’t hide -- / It’s a wonder he doesn’t commit suicide." (de France)

    This quotation depicts the power Lanval's friend has over him. It demonstrates the dynamic of their untraditional relationship where the woman maintains more power over a man. The beginning of their relationship also foreshadowed these events. She completes the traditionally "masculine" objectives in relationships such as: seeking him out, professing her love first, and giving him directions about the future of their relationship. This quotation also foreshadows the continuation of this dynamic later in the poem when she comes before the king to testify for Lanval. This particular representation of her power is important for the plot because it emphasizes the seriousness of her return.

    This quotation demonstrates de France's lack of power in her relationships. She yearns to have this power. In this poem, she creates a woman with seemingly mystic powers that maintains complete and total control over her relationships with a man, and still, she does not rely on him for anything. This quotation also depicts how she feels in her relationship - repeatedly begging for attention that goes unheard. She feels isolated. She wants commitment, and she gets ignored. This quotation exhibits a lot of pain and suffering caused by a power dynamic in which she is the lesser. This situation was probably common for women in de France's time, and most likely very relatable to her audience. 


Works Cited

de France, Marie. "Lanval." Judith P. Shoaf, 2005, people.clas.ufl.edu/jshoaf/files/lanval.pdf.

Comments

  1. Jolie JacobyJanuary 19, 2021 at 7:25 AM

    Your explanation of the quotation is very well done. The relationship between these two characters shows a distinct difference in how powers are viewed between a man and woman during these times. The power dynamic explanation is strong in giving examples of how she feels because of this relationship, which is a main theme in this poem. Overall, good job!

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  2. Mia CiccarelliJanuary 19, 2021 at 7:25 AM

    I also selected this quote! I enjoyed reading this poem on how De France created an untraditional relationship between a man and women. In this poem the women was a powerful figure where she held power over a man and the man was not powerful, mostly a generous character. This untraditional relationship also had many conflicts.

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  3. Cora MatthewsonFebruary 1, 2021 at 7:36 AM

    This is a very interesting piece of writing and I believe your analysis does a great job of portraying the interesting and in-depth meanings that it carries. I love the quote that you decided to explain because it perfectly illustrates the power that women carry in this writing and the permissive nature of men that isn’t often thought of or seen during this time period. The relationship between Lanval and his friend is a very untraditional one as usually women are to listen to men. In this piece Lanval will do absolutely anything for this women dn would even die to remain loyal and true to his love. This is a very uncommon thing for a man to do. Usually men are seen and being powerful and in control but in this instance women hold all of the power. Even when Lanval is being accused and almost murdered it is because he did not obey the queen and because of this the king permissibly took action to defend the queen because she is upset. Women truly hold all of the power in this writing and I think it was a very influential and empowering piece of writing for this time period.

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  4. UnknownFebruary 2, 2021 at 7:18 AM

    I really liked the quote you picked. It shows how women are in power and it not just the stereotypical way where women have no power and can't be better than men. And how these roles are switched in this story. I also liked how you talked about Marie de France. It really makes a connection and helps better understand the background of the story.

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