Chaucer And Marie De France Essay Research

Chaucer And Marie De France Essay, Research Paper

In his The Miller’s Tale Chaucer presents a side of the courtly love tradition

never seen before. His characters are average middle class workers rather than

elite nobility. There is an interesting comparison between the Miller’s

characters and those in two of Marie de France’s lais that share very close plot

lines. Instead of being idealized Chaucer’s characters are gritty. Instead of

being involved in "courtly love" there is some evidence that the

relationship between Alison and Nicholas is one of lust. Chaucer’s use of the

lower class makes the absurdity of what they are doing stand out. In the lais of

Marie de France, Guigemare and Yonec, are built on the same archetype which is

the same as Chaucer’s Miller’s tale uses. Marie’s lais can give provide a set of

"ground rules" for this archetype. The two lais share several similar

elements. They both contain the same three central characters, who possesses

fundamental similarities, the same beginning plot line and several of the same

themes. The first character shared by the two lais is the story’s villain, the

aged husband. He is a powerful lord who is much older than his wife. Because he

is conscious of this fact, he worries constantly that his wife will betray him,

so he locks her up. He is both the least and most important figure in the story.

He’s important because without his presence and actions the story could never

take place. But he has very little actual interaction with the other two more

central characters. The husband in Yonec is never described as meeting either

his wife or her lover. In Guigemare the husband, wife and Guigemare are only

together when the two lovers are discovered. The figure of the beautiful,

imprisoned wife is the second central character. She is the quintessential

damsel in distress, beautiful, noble (and with the exception of her one true

love) chaste. The third character is the valiant lover who rescues the unhappy

and imprisoned damsel. In both Guigemare and Yonec this character is a knight,

and like his lover, the damsel in distress, he is the stereotypical "knight

in shining armor." He is described as being afflicted by love, and says he

will die without it. He will go to any extent for his true love. As with

characters both Guigemare and Yonec share a similar plot line. The young wife is

locked up by her jealous husband. Then by some magical means her lover is

transported to her. After some protestation from the woman, and some wooing from

the knight, the two become lovers, until they are discovered and separated.

After this point the two plots diverge. Also central to both stories is the idea

that these extra-marital affairs are not improper. In Guigemare, the lady’s maid

says to the knight: "The man who wishes to love my lady must keep her

constantly in his thoughts and, if you remain faithful to each other, the love

between you will be right and proper." (pg. 49) Obviously fidelity is

important, but not forced fidelity. Love is more important than marriage in

these lais. It’s also important to note the chastity of the lovers. There is no

mention of contact between the imprisoned wives and their husbands. In Yonec the

Lord of Caerwent takes his wife for the purpose of child bearing, but she is

imprisoned for seven years before meeting her lover and no children are

evidenced from the text. Guigemare has never been in love before he meets his

true love. This gives the love and actions between the pairs seem even more

pure, and also makes it seem to be less sinful. Love is a powerful force in both

these stories. It is not only the driving force behind the character’s actions,

but it also causes them physical affliction. Marie de France writes in Guigemare:

"But love had now pierced him to the quick and his heart was greatly

disturbed. For the lady wounded him so deeply he had completely forgotten his

homeland. . .The knight remained alone, mournful and downcast. He did not yet

realize the cause, but at least he knew that, if he were not cured by the lady

his death would be assured." (pg. 48) To Guigemare at least love is the

most important thing there is. This consideration is even more striking by the

fact that Guigemare either could not or would not fall in love while in his own

land. So those are the basic elements involved in the "imprisoned

wife" archetype used by Marie. In The Miller’s Tale Chaucer uses same basic

plot line, and similar characters. One of the largest differences between the

Chaucer’s characters and Marie’s characters is their level of wealth and their

position in society. This causes them to be portrayed in a different manner than

Marie’s rich, noble characters. The first of the three major characters is

present largely unchanged. He is not of course a king or lord,

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