Comparing Evil In Lai Lanval And Marie De France

In literature, good and evil are often presented in a multitude of ways. In the stories of Lanval and Sir Orfeo, the presentations seem to be quite different. While the basic characteristics one would use to define “good” or “evil” are present in both stories, it’s how the characters are shown that makes all the difference. There is an element of good versus evil in both stories, but what the readers assume to be evil changes. In both of these stories, the humans and non-humans are held to different standards, which could account for the contrasting interpretations. In the lai Lanval, Marie de France seems to present the faeries as better than the humans. The faeries appear to be of higher class; they have more wealth and beauty. This can be seen when Lanval sees the faerie queen’s pavilion: it is said to so beautiful and of such wealth that “the emperor Octavian could not have paid for one of the flaps” (85-86). Additionally, the faerie queen is compared to the beauty of nature: “the lily and the young rose when they appear in the summer are surpassed by her beauty” (94-96). This shows that the faeries not only have more riches, but they

In Lanval, it appears that the faeries are held to a higher set of standards. When compared to the faerie world, the human world lacks justice and beauty. This could be a way to rationalize why Lanval is so ready to give up his, albeit rather unsatisfactory, life in Arthur’s court to be with the faerie queen. In Sir Orfeo, however, these standards are slightly altered. The human world still has less beauty and wealth than the faerie world, but it has stronger morals. The fact that the faerie world in Sir Orfeo seems merciless is surprising, and makes these faeries appear to be villainous. In both stories the sets of standards that are used setup the overall ending. The beings with more morality prosper in the end, justifying the good overcoming the