Bisclavret Character Analysis

Marie de France’s romance, Bisclavret, is based on the story of a noble baron who lives in twelfth century Brittany with his beautiful wife. He is loved by everyone in the kingdom. Everything is all right between the two except that Bisclavret disappears from his house for three days and nobody knows where he goes. His wife declares “My lord, I’m in terror everyday, those days you have gone away, My heart is so full of fear” (Wilke, pg. 1336 lines 40-50). His wife eventually confronts him about one of his returns. She tells him that she thinks he has a lover. He replies to her, “ I’ll suffer great harm if I tell you: I’ll drive you off” (pg. 1336 lines 45-50). He then tells her his secret that he is a werewolf. He elaborates that as a bisclavret he roams the forest undressed and if he does not get his clothes back he would remain bisclavert forever. Through several examples in her lais, Marie de France portrays characters that embrace the supernatural as noble and virtuous, while the characters against the supernatural are portrayed as antagonists. Marie de France in her lais, Bisclavret, shows how the characters against the supernatural are portrayed as antagonists such as his wife and her lover, the knight. One example is when

She portrays some characters that embrace the element of the supernatural such as the king and bisclavret as noble and virtuous. While, the characters that are against the supernatural are portrayed as antagonists such as his wife and the knight. Throughout, Bisclavret shows his nobility and virtue by telling his wife the truth about where he goes in his three days, he shows humility to the king as he bends down to him and begs him for mercy . Instead of following his beastly nature decides to change his clothes in the chambers, as he is humiliated by showing the king his form. Through this we can see