Marie de France’s depiction of females in Lanval and Laustic illustrates an inclination to sympathize with their sexuality despite the trend of shaming them by male writers at the time for their sexual desires. This tendency is seen throughout the two texts, further affirming the notion of feminist eyes in courtly literature. While both texts are indicative of her uniqueness from the male authors, they also have several similarities and differences.
Lanval and Laustic by Marie de France have several similarities, such as the existence of a knight in each story. In Lanval, Marie de France tells the story of a reputable knight from King Arthur’s court. Because of his beauty and courage, this knight was the envy of the other knights, who would not have grieved him even if a misfortune had followed him (Weaver, 2019). On the other hand, Laustic by Marie de France tells the story of two nights who lived near each other. Both knights were reputable and one of them had a beautiful wife (Weaver, 2019). In Lanval, the King’s wife offers herself to the knight, but he rejects her advances by stating that he is in love with another woman. On the other hand, in Laustic, the neighbor’s wife falls for the knight across their home due to his persistence and insistence that he loved her.
However, both have significant differences, especially in the way that they end. In Lanval, the knight is saved by his beloved, who rides with him, never to be seen again. However, in Laustic, the love affair is cut short as the husband kills the only excuse (the nightingale) she had to wake up in the middle of the night to adore her lover. Another difference is that while there was no mutual love between the knight and King Arthur’s wife in Lanval, mutual love existed in Laustic between the knight and the neighbor’s wife. What stood out as I read these selections is the merging of the supernatural and the natural world as they connect through the knight’s love for his mysterious lover in Lanval. Another thing that stood out is the use of the nightingale bird as a symbol of love between the knight’s wife and her neighbor in Laustic.
In conclusion, while both Lanval and Laustic by Marie de France are similar in the way stories develop and characters’ depictions, they are different in the way the plot and heroes’ affairs bring them to an end.
Reference
Weaver, S. (2019).Feminist courtly love in Marie de France. A Journal of Literary Criticism 12(2) 6.