In medieval times, women were generally forced to depend on a man for their security, prosperity and advice. Yet in Marie de France's fictional tales of courtly love, men are in fact victims of women's charm. Men are unable to live without their lovers, and their desire for love leads them to be more noble and obedient. Marie de France does not follow the conventional rules of courtly love, but she models the relationships between men and women according to certain characteristics of it. In fact, women in relationships often belong to one of three groups: those who go unpunished for adultery, those who are condemned for disloyalty, and "divine" women without defects of body and mind. From these fictional relationships arises a distinct symbolism of marriage, social hierarchies and gender roles. The particular tales of Guigemar, Eliduc, and Lanval are all examples of relationships that feature men and women in questionable social roles. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Le Lai de Guigemar, a poetic description of lovers separated by distance and circumstance. Guigemar, a noble knight condemned to no longer be able to love, finds a deer in the woods and tries to kill it. When the arrow rebounds and wounds Guigemar, the deer tells him that he is cursed and will never heal his wound until he finds a woman worth suffering for. Guigemar finds comfort aboard a ship which sets sail while he sleeps and propels him towards the kingdom of his future lovers. The queen of the land he stumbles upon, as well as a servant, find him and offer him comfort and a place to heal his wound. Ultimately, Guigemar is not bothered by his injury but is troubled by his love for the Queen. The queen and Guigemar believe that their love for each other is unrequited, so Guigemar hopes to die. However, he is invited to join the queen, where they begin a year-long affair. To seal their affection for each other, the queen ties Guigemar's shirt into a knot that only she can untie, and Guigemar wraps a belt around her. When the king discovers their relationship, he lets Guigemar go free, leaving behind the queen who wonders if suicide is her only option for two years. She finds the boat on which Guigemar had initially arrived, sets sail for Brittany, but falls prey to Meriaduc's advances. Meriaduc cannot untie his belt, but Guigemar does, after learning that she is attending his jousting tournament. Guigemar starves the enemy city, kills Meriaduc and finds the queen. The immediate reactions to this poem are contempt for the Queen's marriage. At the beginning of Guigemar's Lai, Marie de France explains Guigemar's lack of interest in women, but only uses the word "bachelor". She says at the beginning: "There was no lady or maiden under heaven, however delicate and kind, of whom he had thought for our attention, but if he had exacted his love from a damsel, she would have very gladly granted his wish” (P. 3). Marie de France twice uses the word commonly defined as single woman to explain Guigemar's predicament, but he faces no punishment later for sleeping with a married royal. Marie de France also has no problem with Guigemar's territorial nature, as he places a chastity belt around her lover, to ensure that she "would never grant him her love, except to him alone ". (P.29). Marie de France shows little respect for the promises made in marriage, because there would belittle romantics in Guigemar immediately executed for their actions. Furthermore, the two perpetrators of this case remain unpunished for their actions. Guigemar knew he had to leave because of the Queen's dream, and the Queen was still locked in her tower before her lover arrived. This story sets a theme for subsequent tales; all moral, ethical and social boundaries are broken when love naturally rules over mortals. Eliduc's story is more normative for the period Marie de France wrote, demonstrating that one man exerts unwavering control over two women simultaneously. In this story, a knight named Eliduc was married to his wife Guildeluc and lived happily in the service of the King of Brittany, until he was slandered by jealous enemies. The king banishes him and he leaves with ten knights. They promise to be faithful to each other. Eliduc arrives in a new country, where the lord refused to give his daughter. Eliduc earns the lord's approval by defeating the enemies who come to these lands, much to the girl's delight as well. Initially, Eliduc behaves respectfully due to his marriage, but finds it increasingly difficult to remain honest with his wife. He is tested by Guilliadun, the lord's daughter, to see if his love is accepted. After much torment, Guilliadun expresses his love for Eliduc, which he denies by saying that he has only been in his presence for a year. He leaves after repeatedly rejecting Guilliadun's advances, only to return to sadness once he reunites with his true wife. Eliduc returns to Guilliadun again and tries to take her home. However, on the return journey, a great storm breaks out and Eliduc is accused of causing the storm through his affair. Guilliadun faints at the thought of Eliduc getting married and is apparently dead. Guildeleuc finds Guilliadun's "dead" corpse in a chapel and brings Guilliadun back to life. She allowed Eliduc to marry his new love, provided she could obtain a convent on the lands where Guilliadun was resurrected. This story depicts a high social hierarchy when examined through close analysis and distant reading. Firstly, when considering the plot as a whole, there is overwhelming male dominance. The man has a wife, he refuses the advances of a potential lover, but ends up bringing her to his native land without mentioning Guildeluec in Guilliadun, or vice versa. Marie de France presents this story with contrasting and distorted images of fidelity. Eliduc left the King of Brittany upon request and served both dutifully when called upon, but could not remain faithful to his wife. He doesn't sleep with Guilladun, but he allows himself to be emotionally captivated by her. In this process, he leads Guilladun, leaving her with two choices: Eliduc takes her with him, or lets her commit suicide. Guilladun is so categorical in her demands that she says: “'Since you cannot stay,' said the girl. “Take me with you, wherever you go. Otherwise, my life is so sad without you that I would like to end it with my knife” (P. 42). Guildeluec shows similar despair when she says: “'Do you see,' she said, 'this woman, who with her beauty shines like a jewel! This lady, in her life, was my lord's lover. It was for her that all his days were ruined by sorrow. By my faith, I am hardly surprised by her regrets, since I who am also a woman, out of pity or out of love, I will never know joy again, after having seen such a beautiful lady in the dust” (P. 58). Marie de France offered little mercy to Eliduc's true wife, whom he promised not to betray. Yet she is shown as fragile and regretting Eliduc's luck, standing over her deathbed.lover. In this play, women are seen as completely submissive to men, and none of the female characters make any choices that are not influenced by Eliduc. Marie de France gives women little power or control in this story, leaving the two lovers at the mercy of Eliduc. An excellent example of reversed gender roles is depicted in Marie de France's Lai de Sir Lanval. Lanval is described as a handsome and loyal knight, but he is alone and sad. He decides to explore the forest to rid himself of his misfortune, where he comes across a stream. Two beautiful women approach him and explain that their mistress is waiting for him. This young girl told him that she was looking for deep love and that he would be rewarded for loving the "Fairy Queen" in exchange for his silence. Lanval agrees, and he is promised extravagant wishes. The consequence of revealing their love to an outsider is losing the Fairy Queen forever. Later, during a sort of luncheon in King Arthur's garden, Queen Guinevere tries to persuade Lanval. She confesses her desire to him and quickly offers herself to him out of affection. When he rejects the queen, she accuses him of homosexuality, to which he explains that he is in love with another woman whom he cannot betray. Guinevere accuses Lanval of having offended her towards King Arthur, and he arranges a trial to determine Lanval's innocence. Although Lanval does not recount his love for the Fairy Queen, he vehemently denies Guinevere's claims, which King Arthur does not believe. The jury is divided in their decision, which angers the Queen, but Lanval's love arrives to clear her name. She forgives him for breaking his promise, but acknowledges his attempts to hide her identity during the trial. This story is very interesting in its representation of gender roles. In the previously mentioned stories, women were more tied to their speech than men. For example, in Guigemar's story, the Queen has a chastity belt tied around her waist, while Guigemar simply has a bow in her shirt. However, in this story, Lanval risks being executed without the help of an outside witness. Lanval is either at the mercy of King Arthur, which is normative, or at the mercy of his lover, which is socially unusual. The descriptions of Lanval's interactions with the Fairy Queen are very clearly submissive, as explained when Marie de France says: "Lanval swore the faith, this right, he would strictly observe this commandment. » Marie de France does not explain the wishes of the Queen of the Fairies as a request, but as a command. She later describes this vow as a "covenant", which is also a moderately strict word in place of "pact" or "bond". Lanval is always at the mercy of others, even if he is a “handsome and valiant” knight. He is first bound by his lover, then threatened by Queen Guinevere and almost executed by King Arthur. In previous tales, like Eliduc, both kings gave high praise to their knight, and both women found themselves submissive to whoever Eliduc chose to be with. Even with certain death in the future, Lanval respected her commitment not to reveal the identity of her lover. When the young girls arrive at the trial to present the Beautiful Queen, Lanval “replies very simply that never before had he seen these young ladies with his eyes, nor had he known and loved them in his heart” (P. 40). Lanval was not required to keep the Fairy Queen's young daughters a secret, but Lanval had such deference to his lover that he did not even want to acknowledge their existence. Lanval, a man in love, shows extreme submission to the wishes of his lovers, which contrasts with the other tales written by Marie de France..