Friendship
What does this word mean to you?
Well, if you see the word friendship and picture fighting over a woman neither you, nor your friend, have ever met...this story is right for you.
If you see the word friendship, close your eyes, and imagine attempting to murder your friend over this same woman (whom you still barely know)...this story is right for you.
If you see the word friendship and decide that, on your deathbed, you will look back at the passion you had for this woman, the time you spent fighting for her, the efforts you made to get near to her, and the way in which your best friend just attempted to kill you, and you decide to help him in his courtship of this woman...this story is right for you.
This story was not right for me. In my opinion, Palamoun and Arcite aren’t doing friendship in the right way. They should try being less serious.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzfeed.com%2Fariannarebolini%2Fgreatest-joys-and-struggles-of-being-best-friends-wit&ei=QQcaVcqtLZK_sQTz44HABA&bvm=bv.89744112,d.cWc&psig=AFQjCNGj8zqGg5a1Z6gjKIJ6DivfgUuW_w&ust=1427855503025658
What a stud. Arcite is a stud, I think you’ll all agree. First, the man disguises himself in order to get closer to Emelye. He must be a pro at disguises, because his best friend doesn’t even recognize him until he speaks openly about his love for Emelye (something everyone does when they’re alone, of course).
http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eatmedaily.com%2F2009%2F08%2Fsam-sifton-disguises%2F&ei=UggaVe6jFonBgwTepoLYAg&bvm=bv.89744112,bs.1,d.cWc&psig=AFQjCNHvSfQ1vSCgmwZ9gwbA5mRlkGb5Xg&ust=1427855805720399
Second, not only is Arcite great with disguises, but he is also great in battle. His death wasn’t exactly fair. If there wasn’t a random earthquake which made him hit his head, there’s a good chance he would have won the fight. In which case, I wonder if Palamoun would have been so noble on his own deathbed. I have a sneaking suspicion that he wouldn’t have been as “studsy” as Arcite. He seems to be a lesser knight than his friend. And I’m upset that he ends up marrying Emelye. I wanted him to be noble and decide that he doesn’t deserve her, considering he won the battle by sheer luck. I imagine his thought process to be a lot like this scene from Dumb & Dumber while he’s watching his best friend die:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fstacieleigh95%2Fdumb-and-dumber%2F&ei=XQoaVfX4CfHhsASAuIDwDQ&bvm=bv.89744112,bs.1,d.cWc&psig=AFQjCNH26g3cIkqnBugdePgnhikvftn0Qg&ust=1427856318311599
Maybe my bitterness toward Palamoun is unwarranted. Maybe I’m upset because Arcite put in so much more effort than his friend, and ended up dying in the end. Palamoun just seems like he is too lucky in this story. Similar to The Wife of Bath’s Tale, I don’t know if he really deserves the great deal he gets in the end.
I was rolling my eyes into the void while reading this tale. Seriously, the entire tournament was over a freaking girl who didn't even want to be married in the first place. Poor thing. I'm not too sure who I really side with as far as the knights go. I totally agree with you though, it does seem like Arcite fought harder. But, I kind of want to believe that's all he really cared about; rather than Emily herself, he seemed to care more about dominating the battle field. Mars would be the god to pray to if you wanted to slay some folks in battle.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of you, I found myself pretty annoyed by the fact that either one of them was being given a chance to marry someone who had no interest in marriage. I was actually really excited that there was finally a character who realized the absurdity of a marriage to someone she didn't even know, and was hoping she'd get to make a point of staying single, but nope. Meanwhile, we find out praying is useless, because everyone goes and prays to someone else for the opposite of what you wanted, so it's just cancelled out by whoever prays to the guy that makes earthquakes, which is some total BS. I really can't root for either of the men who were still willing to marry a woman who openly declared she wasn't interested. Everyone loses in this story, even though by the end she realizes she's totally happy in her marriage. So the moral is to pray to the strongest deity you can find and sacrifice your ideals to reach happiness. Yay.
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