More handpicked essays just for you.
How violence is used as a tool in literature
How violence is used as a tool in literature
How violence is used as a tool in literature
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Violence plays a major part in Marie de France’s lais. Violence is used regularly in the lais by cuckholded, jealous husbands and controlling fathers to assert their dominance and power so that they are able to control their wives and daughters and prove their authority. Moreover, it is used as a punishment, a way of getting revenge and seeking ‘justice’ for adulterous behaviour and also often employed by potential suitors as a way of proving their strength and worth. We can see that the role of violence has a great importance in the Marie de France’s lais and often comes in-between love, sex and relationships. In this essay I will explore the ways in which Marie de France presents violence, it’s victims and the impact it has on the characters, …show more content…
The father, after losing his wife, has his beautiful daughter locked away in a tower which she cannot leave to supposedly to ‘protect her’ when really it is to assert his dominance and prove his ownership and control of his daughter.
Similarly, in Guigemar, the old kings has his beautiful wife imprisoned. Later in the lai she is given a kind of chastity belt by Guigemar her secret lover. Despite the fact that this is not a violent or cruel act it still has the same theme of a man proving authority and ownership over a woman.
However, in Equitan we see the opposite as it is the woman who uses violence as a method of control and a way of taking charge of her situation as she plots to kill her husband by running a bath of boiling water to scald her husband to death ‘Sun bain si chaut e si buillant’ (Micha 1994) showing not only a mean, nasty nature but also female empowerment as she is the one to take initiative and devise a plan in order to get what she wants. Although, in this case she uses violence in a more subtle way as she knows that she is not physically stronger than her husband so must come up with a different
…show more content…
In Chaitivel, there is a violent and brutal tournament between four suitors as they compete against each other for the love and affection of a beautiful woman. However, the tournament ends with three out of four of the suitors being accidentally killed and only one survives but he is left severely injured. ‘La grant peine k'il en suffreient De l'amur qu'il vers vus aveient’ (Micha 1994).So we learn that as a result of the violent fight the remaining suitor is terribly wounded and the woman has lost three men that she loved. Therefore, the violent battle ends in tragedy for all of the characters showing the great damage and destruction that violence can
“Romeo and Juliet is a play about two silly, immature teenagers who lack common sense. Therefore, the play expresses the danger of a love in which two people become the whole world to one another.'; To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie’s Montaillou: The Promised Land of Error is an exceptional book, which dives into the lives of peasants of Montaillou in the 14th century. Montaillou is a village, presently French, and is situated in the south of the present day department of Ariege, in southern France. What sets this book apart from others written about the same subject is that it focuses mainly on the testaments of the peasants of the 14th century, before this book there was a small amount of information available which was a direct indications of the peasants. Ladurie does an astonishing job by providing the testimonies of the peasants and shepherds, and this in turn helps the reader to understand the lives of villagers in the 14th century. While providing an outlook in the lives of the villagers, Ladurie covers many aspects of the time, such as environment and authority, the great migrations, the shepherds mental outlook and also more personal aspects such as body language and sex, marriage and love and religion in practice. Out of the many aspects covered in this book I will mainly focus my attention on the concept of marriage and love and observe its role in the 14th century in a village such as Montaillou.
As is custom with Marie De France, her lai “Lanval” presents the idea of a romance in which the power of fairies and/or magic is present and works to aid or hurt the romance in question. In the case of “Lanval” magic and fairies come to the aid of our protagonist Lanval, and ultimately lead to the formation of a romantic relationship in his life. However, Lanval faces a dilemma as he talks of his love to the fairy woman while rejecting the Queen’s love, and thus realizes he will never be able to see his beloved again, as she had told him never to speak of their romance or he would lose her. Luck turns in his favor though, as even after having spoken of their love, his beloved returns and they leave together. Many may speculate as to why Marie
It is my intention to compare the book, Dangerous Liaisons by Choderlos de Laclos, to its modern movie version, Cruel Intentions starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. I intend to examine how the original French text was modified in reference to plot, character, morals/values, and themes. I also plan to discuss how these transformations change the meaning of the story and reflect different cultural/historical contexts. There are some major differences between these two works, if only because of when they were written.
Throughout the Lais of Marie de France there are several themes presented as central to the various stories. Some of these themes are present in all of the lais. One such example is that of courtly love and it’s implications. Courtly love being one of the more prominent themes in all of medieval literature, it is fittingly manifested in all of the lais as well. Another theme present in two of the lais is isolation. The theme of isolation plays a large role in the stories of Guigemar and Lanval. In each of these lais we see isolation as a factor in determining the fates of the central figures. Within each lai isolation is represented on several different occasions, each time having a direct impact on the outcome. These instances of isolation may be seen at times to be similar in nature and consequence, and different at other times. By sifting through both works these instances may be extrapolated and analyzed.
In the book, Marie Antoinette: The Last Queen of France , the author, Evelyne Lever,
Popular culture depicts Medieval chivalry as a glamorous and high time for women, with knights bending their knees in worship to them in Pre-Raphaelite paintings, and the fairness and virtue of women being celebrated in literature. Chivalry is often understood as the elevation of the lady fair, with men taking upon themselves the task of protecting and defending women. In fact, though, this was not an elevation of women but a limitation of their freedom and an undermining even of their intelligence and strength of will. Medieval chivalry, in essence, subordinated women to men while claiming to elevate women. In Lanval and Laustic, women are shown to have a subordinate status to men in three ways: being painted as temptresses, being subject to protection from men, and being subservient to orders from men.
The relationship shared by Pierre and Helene is best described as a lustful charade. It is no coincidence that Pierre, one of the most introspective characters in the novel, first marries a shallow, inwardly-ugly adulterer. His first recorded attitude towards Helene is one of admira...
Renzetti, C. (1999). The challenge to Feminism posed by Women’s use of violence in intimate relationships.
From the beginning of fiction, authors have constantly exploited the one topic that is sure to secure an audience: love. From the tragic romance of Tristan and Isolde to the satirical misadventures in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, literature seems obsessed with deciphering the mysteries of affection. The concept most debated is the question of where the line falls between lust and love and what occurs when the two are combined, and few portray it more clearly than Edmund Rostand in his French drama Cyrano de Bergerac. The influence of fickle physical attraction and deep romantic love on each other are explored by the interactions of the four main characters: De Guiche, Christian, Roxane, and Cyrano.
The lais of Milum is the story of a great knight born in South Wales, and the love he shared with the beautiful daughter of a nobleman. Throughout the story we are told of the struggle and hardships, they endured due to the feelings they harbored for one another. Similarly to many of Marie’s lays Milun is told in a charming and simple nature, but upon closer inspection we can see its complexity. A tale of love is one told time and time again, a tale as old as time itself, yet the tale differs as well as the love. The love of Milum and the maiden is a private one, fueled by fame and honor. It is restrictive but also freeing, it traps you in its course letting you escape from the world.
The tales of King Arthur and many of their numerous characters are well known in literature. The Arthurian world is one of the great myths of modern times. Those great pieces of literature have many common themes, one of them being courtly love “L’amour Courtois”. This paper talks of courtly love as seen in King Arthur’s world especially examining “Yvain or the Knight with the Lion” and “Lancelot: or the Knight of the Cart”. Furthermore, one of the goals is to show how that courtly love could be seen in today in our world.
During the Middle Ages, Courtly love was a code which prescribed the conduct between a lady and her lover (Britannica). The relationship of courtly love was very much like the feudal relationship between a knight and his liege. The lover serves his beloved, in the manner a servant would. He owes his devotion and allegiance to her, and she inspires him to perform noble acts of valor (Schwartz). Capellanus writes, in The Art of Courtly Love, “A true lover considers nothing good except what he thinks will please his beloved”. The stories of Marie de France and Chrétien de Troyes illustrate the conventions of courtly love.
In The Lais of Marie de France, the theme of love is conceivably of the utmost importance. Particularly in the story of Guigemar, the love between a knight and a queen brings them seemingly true happiness. The lovers commit to each other an endless devotion and timeless affection. They are tested by distance and are in turn utterly depressed set apart from their better halves. Prior to their coupling the knight established a belief to never have interest in romantic love while the queen was set in a marriage that left her trapped and unhappy. Guigemar is cursed to have a wound only cured by a woman’s love; he is then sent by an apparent fate to the queen of a city across the shores. The attraction between them sparks quickly and is purely based on desire, but desire within romantic love is the selfishness of it. True love rests on a foundation that is above mere desire for another person. In truth, the selfishness of desire is the
The story begins with the Marquise de Merteuil corresponding with Vicomte de Valmont regarding a luscious new act of ‘revenge’, as she describes it, against the Comte de Gercourt. The young Cecile de Volanges has just come home from the convent and her marriage to Gercourt has been arranged. However, before he can wed the innocent child, Merteuil proposes Valmont ‘educate’ her, thus spoiling Gercourt’s fancy for untarnished convent girls. Valmont is uninterested in such an easy seduction and is far more aroused by the thought of lulling The Presidente’ de Tourvel, the very epitome of virtue, into submission. And so the tale unfolds.