Emare'? Egare'? Teach Me Your Ways

So, I'm a little late, but I've decided it's worth writing a blog anyway.

I was a big fan of this story. I mean, after all of the stories we have read about men killing each other over a beautiful woman, it was nice to not see any bloodshed. Why haven't the knights in other stories decided to fix their problems this way? And why haven't more of the beautiful maidens had the moxie to say no? (I know the answers to these, of course. But It's still important to consider!).

In Caitlyn's last post, she said something about a story being predictable--about the inevitability of marriage in Jane Austen's stories. This story reminded me of Jane Austen as well--but for a different reason. I couldn't help but to think of how satisfying it is to hear a woman say no to a marriage proposal in Austen's writing. This story's marriage denial had the same affect on me.

 

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAYQjB0&url=http%3A%2F%2Feverydaylife.globalpost.com%2Fdeny-marriage-proposal-14815.html&ei=IxsvVcmBCcqIsQSQk4CwCA&bvm=bv.91071109,d.cWc&psig=AFQjCNGrrXgkShrW9EUIutcuHyCxberjoA&ust=1429236891304136

Imagine this picture, but with the guy being significantly older than the woman. And also, imagine them looking alike since it is the father who is proposing (just in case you forgot how creepy that is to people reading this today).

I know a lot of people will be blogging/talking about their feelings toward the Emare' in this story. I think it's great that we a female protagonist. I have a really good feeling that people will be disappointment with her character because she eventually married (this is something which has come up in other classes, so I'm just assuming). In which case, I will have to agree. And if nobody holds this claim, I will hypothetically agree with an imaginary classmate.

I think it's fantastic that Emare chooses to marry someone she loves. Pining for the person she loves when she is away, does not make her weak. The woman has sailed across the ocean twice, people! Without food! Or water!
I'm glad she has found someone to share a life with, even it they were parted for seven years. I think she deserves a happy life more than most!

Friend? Or One Pathetic Loser?

  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.

It's Just A Flesh Wound

         Let me start by asking what I hope others in our class have been wondering as well: just how high is Lancelot’s pain tolerance. I mean, come on! Throughout the entire story (and that’s a lot of pages) he is either wounded, or healing from his terrible wounds. He refuses more treatment than I can count, and he is somehow able to participate in battle throughout it all—and that’s not even taking into account the weight of the armor which is necessary for him to wear! 

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAYQjB0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.egu.eu%2Fnetwork%2Fpalaeoblog%2F2013%2F02%2F18%2Fits-just-a-flesh-wound%2F&ei=F9rrVPvhBMWbNsuSg4gK&bvm=bv.86475890,d.eXY&psig=AFQjCNH9mZhx2c8WUfCMxWQrQtk1TbDMzQ&ust=1424829311441607

                I had to add this image because it’s the only thing I could think of while I was reading. It’s funnier because the first time I ever watched Monty Python and The Holy Grail, I found it funny…well…simply because it was funny. After learning and reading so much more Medieval literature, the movie has reached an entirely new level of humor. If you haven’t seen it, I highly suggest you watch it at some point.

            ANYWAY, I couldn’t help but to laugh while reading, “Little worried about injuries to his hands and feet, he would rather maim himself than fall from the bridge and bathe in water from which he would never escape” (208). MAIM himself? For goodness sake! Let’s just take a look for one moment at the Oxford English Dictionary’s definition of maim.

“Originally: a lasting wound or bodily injury. Subsequently: an injury to the body which causes the loss of limb, or of the use of it; a mutation, a mutilating wound.”

            Chretien wasn’t talking about a scratch. He wasn’t even talking about a broken bone or something which requires a few stitches. If I’m following the text correctly, Lancelot has possibly lost major portions of his body (or maybe even a few small chunks), but isn’t worried about it. Yeah, I’d probably bow down to him too.

            The best part about the injuries in this story, in fact, is possibly the way in which they barely affect the people who have received them. Toward the end I wasn’t even surprised to hear that Lancelot, while ripping metal bars out of a concrete slab (something I hope somebody tackles in their blog), accidentally severed his finger (and part of another), but didn’t notice until he is in his own bed (226).

The image below accurately depicts my facial expression when I have accidentally given myself a paper cut, or maybe even caught a piece of my hair in the zipper of my jacket. 

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%2Fio9.com%2F5912008%2Fthe-ten-most-painful-insect-stings-as-measured-by-science&ei=id7rVILIHeKwsASz0YHQBQ&bvm=bv.86475890,d.cWc&psig=AFQjCNFYDqU1e0ZQLKzLPXynJpYoylgjBA&ust=1424830433002436

            So, overall, I only covered one aspect of the story which caught my attention. But then again, the entire story questions what it means to be a knight, and I think receiving injuries without complaint is a major part of that. 

 Works: 

 http://www.oed.com/

Chretien de Troyes. The Complete Romances of Chretien de Troyes. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 1990. Print. 

Distractions de Troyes

     Things escalate at a snail’s pace in this story. Just when the storyline seems to be picking up speed, the narrator slows down by giving us (unnecessary) in-depth descriptions of characters and settings. 

     One example of this distraction (as I will now refer to it), comes on page 6. Instead of simply stating the maiden’s beauty, we are flooded with details of Nature’s efforts to create such an attractive human being. Plenty of people would kill to be told that “never before had such a lovely creature been seen on the face of the earth” (6). I am impressed by the way that the narrator is able to speak so much and so intensely about the beauty of this maiden, yet, I still do not have a clear idea of what she looks like (except, of course, her hair is even brighter than the women in Pantene commercials). 

http://imgkid.com/pantene-hair-commercial.shtml

       What confused me about this maiden’s description, was the end. The narrator focuses solely on the maiden and Nature’s painstaking efforts, but the last sentence of this description focuses on males instead. It seemed odd to me that the narrator praised this maiden’s beauty and wisdom, then decides to compare her to a “mirror” for men to see their beauty in.

      Another distraction appears on page 21, when we are told about Enide’s new cloak. It isn’t simply a nice cloak, it is made of “deep-green silk,” and, “embroidered with little crosses that had been made especially for her.” I think we can all share the jealousy of her wardrobe here.

      Enide, to me, is a very important part of this story. It frustrates me that she is praised mainly for her beauty, and less so for her intelligence, but I am impressed that her knowledge is even mentioned within this text. In fact, there were a lot of differences in this text from the texts we have previously read.

One example comes on page fourteen. Erec states his disgust for violence toward women when he says, “It is disgraceful to strike a woman.” 

      This would be a foreign concept to the writer of “Courtly Love.” We’ve moved quickly from a reading which supports beating wives if they don’t agree with their husbands, to a text that claims the act of hitting women should never be acceptable. It’s crazy how drastically opinions can change over time. In a few years, I’m sure we will be looking back on the standards and beliefs of our society, wondering what the heck we were thinking. 

      Toward the end of the reading, I found that things picked up the pace—rather quickly. One small morning conversation between the couple, and all hell breaks loose. I didn’t expect Erec to act the way he does, and even less so the way he begins to treat Enide. I can’t help but to believe that he is testing her…but for what? She is obviously faithful and fully invested in their relationship. On the other hand, he could be trying to prove his worth as a knight to her. But I wish he would just give up the dramatic act and go home, because I can’t see this ending well.

Oh, so many things to say about "The Art of Courtly Love"

          Opening today’s reading on blackboard, I am more than pleased to find that the document is only nine pages long. I start reading the first chapter aloud, adding some flare in the form of a British accent in order to keep myself entertained (don’t worry, none of my roommates are home to suffer through this performance).

          “Love is a certain inborn suffering,” I read (Capellanus, 30). Wow, Capellanus really hit the nail on the head with that one. I’m beginning to think I can agree with what this author has to say.  In the twenty-two years that I have been me, I have come to find that even the best types of love occasionally suck. It’s hard work, this business of love. And after years of being a self-absorbed and, to be quite honest, an idiotic teenager, I have come to the same realization that Capellanus does on the next page: most of the problems with love, are problems which are created in our own minds. The dilemma with this theory though, is that I can easily argue in defense of worrisome thoughts toward love. Ignoring your instincts can be just as dangerous as heartbreak. And sometimes the problems that arise from “overthinking,” should not be ignored. Perhaps Capellanus should read a little bit more…

http://sweatpantsandcoffee.com/body-mind-soul/moment-of-sanity-what-depression-and-anxiety-look-like-to-me/

        I continue to read, and before I know it, I’m laughing—laughing at my own ignorance of course! You see, I’ve gone my entire life believing that blind people have the ability to love, along with women who are older than 55, men older than 60, and people who do not consider jealousy a necessary trait. How could I have been so foolish?

http://nishanrl-journal.blogspot.com/2012/01/carl-ellie.html

          When I think about it though, it is Disney who filled my head with such lies. 

          Rereading the rules of courtly love, I find myself stuck on XXIII. It reads: “He who love vexes eats and sleeps very little.” Well now I KNOW that this piece isn’t factual. Because along with my twenty-two years of experience on love, I have found that I NEVER (and I mean NEVER) have an issue with my appetite. I’m thinking I could make a lot of money writing a story similar to this one, titled: The Art of Courtly Love: Doughnut Edition. 

   https://foodiegang.wordpress.com/2010/02/03/heart-shape-donuts-valentine%E2%80%99s-day-special/

 What do you think of this as the cover?

                Alas, I shall press on to more serious questions about this reading. One of the most unexpected pieces of information comes halfway through the first study guide.  Reading that the doctrine was created by women makes me feel somewhat betrayed. The Middle Ages wasn’t a great time to be a woman. But I find myself wondering if maybe these women hurt themselves even more by making such rules for men. I’d like to think that if I were living during that time, I would have the guts to give up on people who needed a list of the “do’s and don’ts” of loving another person. It’s laughable (the kind of laugh that turns quickly into tears of disappointment) to realize that these women had to find a nice way to say, “by the way, rape isn’t okay. Oh and also, love is a lot better if it’s a mutual feeling.”

          And after all of my anger dissipates, I come to realize that this is the most entertaining thing I have read in quite some time. So, maybe it was worth something after all? 

Work Cited: 

Capellanus, Andrew. "The Art of Courtly Love." New York: Columbia University Press. 1960. Print. 

Thompson, Diane. "Courtly Love Study Guide." Northern Virginia Community College. January 26, 2011. Web. 

Schwartz, Debra. "Backgrounds to Romance: 'Courtly Love.'"California Polytechnic University. 1998-2002. Web.