So I don’t know what
everyone else is thinking about this story, but I actually really liked it, and
I was totally surprised that I did. Middle English can be so hard to read, let
alone understand and yet I feel I have enough of it under my belt to not be
intimidated by it anymore. I had never heard the story about Orpheus before, so
I had to read the link that Dr. MB suggested that we read beforehand, but even
so I really ended up liking the story. I think, for the first time, I got the
sense that we were reading about a couple that truly cared about each other, to
the point that they were both incredibly distraught when they had to separate for
years because of the faery king.
Although the story itself is odd because of
its mystical element, I connected with it because it reminded me of a real life
situation in which a couple that truly loves each other, may be separated for
reasons beyond their control. Maybe it is family tensions, maybe it is any
other obscure situation that I can’t really explain right now in a blog post
but I am sure some of you get what I am trying to say. I mean…do I think the
king should have forsaken his entire kingdom? No probably not, but is I romantic
in a way? Yeah it kind of is.
His love for her is so encompassing that he
cannot imagine ruling without her. “Al his kingdom he forsoke; Bot a sclavinon
him he toke.” (227-228) Also…I am a bit of a sucker for happy endings. I like
that neither one of these main characters plays hard to get, and that once they
see each other they are genuinely ecstatic to see each other (I am still bitter
about the Knight and the Cart). Speaking from a perspective of a person who has
grown up on Disney fairy tales, I felt that this story was a classic hero,
villain, damsel in distress gets saved by the hero kind of story, and I love
that. The only issue a small part of me has with this story is the feminist
side that is annoyed that the woman could not save herself, but that simply
speaks to the time period in which this story was written.
Yes! I definitely agree with you that it pleased me that finally no one played games with the other. Finally a happy ending that I did not have to question how in the hell we even got there, and why everyone is celebrating. I also appreciate your point of view that the separation is pretty much just an extended version or real life scenarios, such as situations that the couple cannot control, but can conquer it regardless, it just took them what 10 years? Oh well, worked for them. But yeah I very much appreciated that part of the love story. Great use of The Notebook by the way!
ReplyDeleteYou're not the only one still bitter about the Knight of the Cart! (I mean seriously, Guinevere? Thats how you greet your man?!) The story of Orfeo was a refreshing change from the pervious tales we've read in that the two lovers were actually happy to see one another. I loved this aspect of both the Orpheus and Orfeo stories. The lovers reacted to the situation in a way that most of us would have and that was a pleasure to see / read.
ReplyDeleteHowever at the same time, I also feel like there was a bit too much happiness in this story. I think the tragedy of Orpheus makes so much more of an emotional impact on the reader. Even though Orfeo gets a nice happy ending, I wouldn't want to read about this nice happy ending more than maybe once or twice. Yet the tragedy of Orpheus is alluring (in an awful way) and it has the power to draw me back over and over again. While I can agree that the reaction of the lovers in both tales is fulfilling, the tragic ending of Orpheus makes the story stand out above Orfeo in my mind.
I am a totally sucker for Disney movies! But I do love to see people have their happy endings. I have never heard or read the story of Orpheus myself until I read the link. It was a tragedy but its like all of the other tales. They never really have a happy ending for everyone maybe just the one person. But here in this story everyone is happy and its a breath of fresh air. Finally we have story where everyone gets what they want in the end. Maybe this is that one time Chaucer decides to switch things up a bit and let the main characters be happy in the end.
ReplyDeleteI see what you're saying, but I agree with Katie. There is a little too much happiness in this story compared to its influence, Orpheus. I think a little bit of tragedy is a good thing in life. So far, most of the stories we've read have had a happy or somewhat happy ending. Don't get me wrong, I do love happy endings, but it gets boring after a while. I know, I know, that sounds awful. Why have people suffer for no reason? Well because these people need to toughen up a little.
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