One of the things I enjoy about the Marie de France stories is that they are very character driven. On my initial read I actually liked Lanval as a character and did not get this sense of naivety that others were suggesting but I did get a huge sense of neglect. However, I never really saw that naivety but I did see a lot of loneliness in his character and that lead me to imagine him as a better person for several reasons. Lanval was described as having great skills, beauty and courage but also for his generosity. This is quite the opposite characteristic that we’ve seen of most of the men in the readings so far. Most of the men so far have been braggarts and very interested in improving their own lives standing. Then there is Lanval who is generous, which would mean he is humble. He does not even ask the king for rewards, which does make him sad but he never asks which suggests there is a part of him that believes he does not outright worthy enough to receive rewards. He would prefer them freely given by those who do see him worthy (namely Arthur who forgets about him) which is exactly what he gets with the maiden.
Which I think is where the argument that he is naive comes from. Logically, if a maiden just appears from nowhere knowing things impossible for her to know and asking for secrets to be kept said maiden shouldn't be trusted. However, Lanval is a lonely character; I honestly don't think he would have known better as he had no one else that really cared for him throughout the entire story. Even when he misspoke to the queen, he did it to defend himself and even at that he had to be provoked into defending himself. He might be naive, but it seems to have more to do with not having anyone to guide him in the right direction rather than just an overall character trait.
Amy,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your thoughts as well. When I read about Lanval I felt more like he was just lonely because no one paid attention to him so when he received attention from the maiden how could he resist. I think you make a great point when you mention that Lanval isn't like other male characters that we have read about. Yes he gets riches from the maiden, but he wasn't going out and searching for riches and fame he just kind of stumbled upon it. I really did like Lanval as a character because I sympathized with him and his sense of loneliness that was portrayed by Maria De France.
Your article was very interesting and brings up a possible theory from me. Maybe that was why many Medieval English 'heroes' were braggarts, was because that was a way to attract attention to themselves and ward them away from the loneliness that came from low societal position. Lanval is a reflection of that, his loneliness is more elaborated on. His loneliness is also certainly reflected in his social interactions with the characters. He appears to be a man who hasn't had much social interaction in his life before these events.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree. I read his character as someone who does not quite understand the way to interact with people, take his defense to the Queen for example, but still wants that. He comes off as strange so he gets pushed away and forgotten so he never learns this.
DeleteI do agree that he is very generous and that seemed to be a big selling point as far as his character goes. I do think that his generosity borders naivete. He gave to everyone but was slighted by everyone. He never stood up for himself, and the one time he did was thrown in prison! It reminds me of people who are genuinely good people and bottle up their anger at all the jerks in the world, and then when they finally explode they are made out to be the bad guy.
ReplyDeleteI can see where you're coming from on his generosity bordering on naivete. However, I think the way others treat him comes from him not bragging about himself and not hoarding his riches. That makes him unlike the other knights which I think would cause the others to treat him the way they do. He is "different" and not in a way that is really accepted.
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