Saturday, March 12, 2016

Lanval: What is he doing with his life?

          In class on Thursday (March 10th) there was a lot of talk about the maiden that Lanval falls in love with, but there was not a whole lot of talk about the man himself. There really did not seem to be much in the way of interest about Lanval, but looking closer at him, he is the Ideal Man. Not only is he desired by a beautiful, wealthy woman, making him the envy of men, but he is also the ideal man for women as well. Lanval knew that his lady did not want him to speak about her and while he did slip up, he was only complimenting her beauty. Lanval stays loyal to his lady and turns down the queen. Even while imprisoned he remains loyal to his lady.
        While there was a lot of discussion about Lanval's mistress, he was glossed over, but why? Lanval is loyal, supposedly good looking and he is not poor, but he is not interesting. I found it quite interesting that there was not a lot of talk about him because he didn't have any lasting drama. The king, queen and the maiden all were embroiled in their own schemes and plans that Lanval was forgotten because all he could do was sit in jail. The idea that the perfect man was not quite enough to even keep Marie de France's focus is also interesting. Lanval is supposed to be the knight in shining armor, but he is the one that needs saved; he needs other people's drama and turmoil to make himself exist.

No wonder the king left him out of the gifting hour.

Enjoy these comic strips as much as I did.

Images found at: http://litbrick.com/comic.php?date=2010-05-06

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4 comments:

  1. CodeNameMutantAngelMarch 12, 2016 at 9:42 PM

    I am curious as to why you think Lanval is the ideal man. Is it your opinion that he is the perfect man, or your opinion that the people in the poem believed him to be the perfect man? To me he seemed cowardly and naive, with no good qualities to his name but his good looks and perhaps charm. I realize that opinion is harsh, so perhaps I am missing something important.

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  2. CodeNameMutantAngelMarch 12, 2016 at 9:42 PM

    I am curious as to why you think Lanval is the ideal man. Is it your opinion that he is the perfect man, or your opinion that the people in the poem believed him to be the perfect man? To me he seemed cowardly and naive, with no good qualities to his name but his good looks and perhaps charm. I realize that opinion is harsh, so perhaps I am missing something important.

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  3. UnknownMarch 13, 2016 at 8:25 PM

    I agree with you that he is the perfect man according to what we've been taught as women. You want a man that will stand by you no matter what, that will turn other women down, and that is handsome, rich, and a knight! ;) I thought it was interesting in class that we skipped over Lanval and only talked about women in the poem, when the poem is even named after him! Good catch about the perfect man idea though!

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  4. UnknownMarch 14, 2016 at 2:39 PM

    I love the comic strips! Are you missing a more developed male character? I actually like that the focus is on the more developed female characters. Lanval reminds me of Beowulf in regards to the fact that both male characters seem underdeveloped because they fit too perfectly into the hero/ideal man mold. They leave quite a bit to be desired.

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