- Published: January 2, 2022
- Updated: January 2, 2022
- University / College: University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
- Level: Intermediate School
- Language: English
- Downloads: 1
Rather than having Lanval as a husband, she preferred their relationship to be kept secret and that she gladly stayed behind as his mistress.
The first woman married a man who has a hidden personality that caused him to go away from home for days unnoticed. But, unknown to him, this brought out the real woman nature of his wife. The woman grew in anxiety for the consistency of her husbands’ absence and hidden agenda. This is but a normal feeling and reaction for a feminine who tasted the glory of being married, proof of it is her having many children. One day, she learned of her husbands’ real nature, that of a werewolf. This is quite unbelievable these days. Though, it may mean, the dual personality nature of his husband. Bisclavret could also be a strong man of diverse interest and outgoing, or he could be a person who loves to spend some time to be just plain and simple citizens of the land away from the knightly image. The wife, on the other hand, is just libidinous and is probably at the peak of her natural inclinations for sex.
So, she convinced her husband for the truth. She must be shortsighted having no choice, but to configure a way to satisfy her urge when her husband is away. In simple terms she was adulterous and a cheat because probably she has very little education or bearing. In despair, she met a guy of the same category who agreed to connive with her and be her lover. They enjoyed being together and continued even after they were driven away.
” More than one woman of that family
Was born without a nose to blow,
And lived denoised” (Shoaf 1996).
This part of the poem revealed the ultimate nature of Bisclavret’s wife. She was not a cultured and intellectual woman.
The second woman, on the other hand, kept her gorgeousness in seclusion. Her opulence is revealed by being demure because she always comes into the presence of others right after her slaves had oriented her. Her affairs with a man are kept secrete and discrete. Prudence is another of her virtue. But, when circumstances forced her to stand firm on her grounds, she does not shy away and wavers from it. She went to as far as relieving her man from the tangles of false accusations. Regardless of who stands in the middle of things, she knew how to assert her rights. She was not desperate nor lost her composure in the process. She has the inner strength which can not be overlooked and which is even more charismatic than her charms as a lady of beauty, that not even a queen can encompass her personality.
” Arthur,” she said, ” Now listen to me!
And all your barons whom here I see.
O King, I have loved your vassal” (Shoaf 1996).
These lines, when uttered by a woman, speaks of her straightforwardness, intellectual capacity, her breeding, and her strength. This is the kind of woman That Lanval picked as his mistress.
Conclusion
Practically, the two heroines clearly revealed a woman’s similarity in natural weakness over the physical need for a man. But, no two persons are exactly the same especially when it comes to perspectives, values, and virtues. So, Bisclavret’s woman is a lot more different from Lanval’s mistress.