Comparing Bisclavret And Yönec

In Marie de France’s “Bisclavret and “Yönec” she tells two distinct stories with supernatural elements and fairy-tale like qualities. In both, she tells the story of two unhappy marriages full of betrayal and deceit. Although the specific situations in both stories are distinctly different, there are abundant similarities in how the characters behave. All four of the main characters in the two act out of their own self interest, whether it is by betraying their spouse or through blatant dishonesty. By demonstrating both extreme and sympathetic examples of selfish characters and by punishing them for their actions, Marie de France is criticising selfish lovers and suggesting that selfishness and the sanctity of marriage are incompatible with

each other.
The wife of Bisclavret is an extremely selfish and manipulative character and Marie de France uses her to demonstrate the destructiveness of selfishness. Immediately following her husband’s relavation that he is a werewolf she reacts with disgust, thinking of “what means she could avail herself of how to leave this man.

She could not lie with him again” (100-103). That she feels no concern for her husbands well being, and immediately begins to plot how she can rid herself of him speaks to her self absorbed nature. In fact, as soon as he reveals his nature she instantly begins to manipulate him into telling her key information about his transformation saying to him “why mistrust your own dear wife? That does not seem a loving thought” (82-83). That she begins trying to get more information that she later uses to betray her husband so quickly demonstrates her ability to shut off her feelings for her husband who she previously “loved” (23) further illustrating her selfishness. She then goes to a chevalier “who had long been in love with her” (104) and further demonstrates her capacity for manipulation by granting him “[her] body and [her] love” (115) and subsequently asking him to assist her in betraying her husband. She is well aware of the chevalier’s love for her and although “she had loved him not” (107), she has no reservations about using that love to her advantage and “send[s] him for the stash” (124) which traps Bisclavret “for life” (125) The wife of Bisclavret is used as an

extreme example of what selfishness looks like and how it can destroy a marriage. Marie de France uses the character of Bisclavret to illustrate that even justifiable selfishness is damaging to a marriage. That Bisclavret would “disappear for three whole days” (25-26) in the week without offering any explanation to anyone, leaving his wife and household “ignorant” (28) suggests his own self interest in keeping his secret hidden. When his beloved wife says to him that “on those days you part from me my heart is full of pain” (44-45) and asks him to “reassure [her] hastily” (47) he does not take into account the pain and “anxiety” (43) that he causes his wife by these disappearances but rather says to her that “[he]’ll have much harm in telling [her]” (54). While there are obvious dangers and repercussions that come with Bisclavret’s status as a werewolf being known, he still acts out of his own self interest and refuses to confide in his wife, arguably the one person he should feel he can confide in. Bisclavret’s decision to think of his own wellbeing before his marriage’s is ultimately what causes his marriage to fail.
The elderly Lord in the story of “Yönec” is used to demonstrate the selfish nature of both the objectification of women and jealousy. This Lord takes a wife in hoping that “heirs would follow in his stead” (20), indicates that he married his wife purely for his own gain. He feels that she is “a fine award” (23) and “love[s] her loveliness” (24) which illustrates his objectification of her as he only values her for her beauty. He is also quite jealous and “afraid, constantly that he’ll be betrayed” (73-74) and so “her beauty and nobility made him guard her most carefully” (25). He locks her “in the tower” (39) and doesn’t allow her to “hear the worship service” (75-76) which demonstrates that he is so concerned keeping her to himself that he is willing to sacrifice even her spirituality. It is quite apparent that his wife is miserable being locked away, she is constantly “weeping and sighing” (46) and her “will has drained away” (48) and the Lord is aware of this as he notices the difference in his wife taking note of her “joy and bliss” (252) when his she falls in love with Muldumarec. That he does not do anything to help his wife or even question his behavior speaks largely to his self absorbed nature. By using another extreme example of selfishness that is different in nature than that of the wife in Bisclavret, Marie de France shows the many forms that self absorbed behavior can come in and illustrates their destructiveness.
By creating an extremely sympathetic character and still giving her selfish qualities Marie de France illustrates that regardless of the reasons for the selfish behavior it is still detrimental. While locked away in her husband’s tower the Lord’s wife speaks of
“Knights found young women, beautiful, noble, withal desirable: ladies found lovers of great price, so handsome, valiant, courteous; they were not blamed. And what had been was never known, was never seen. If such can be done, if such was done, such things fell out for anyone, God for whom all is possible, grant it to me! My wish fulfill!” (95-104).
Her desire to experience a romantic love that she has heard about in fairy tales is not unwarranted given her current situation; However, seeking an extramarital affair is selfish in nature.

Furthermore, she exhibits very little hesitation in beginning this love affair with the chevalier saying almost immediately that “she would be his love if he believed in God above; if so there was no obstacle” (138-139). By discounting her husband entirely and by agreeing to take part in the affair so quickly she demonstrates her interest in her own happiness over the sanctity of her marriage. Giving each of the characters such brutal punishments for their selfish behavior condemns selfishness itself. Bisclavret’s wife’s betrayal of her husband is punished severely in the story. She has an encounter with Bisclavret in his wolf form during which he “[tears] her nose off” (235), an act that disfigures her and thus affects her beauty and shaming her publicly. She is subsequently tortured by order of the king and “put to pain and agony” (264) until she tells the story of her betrayal. Once Bisclavret turns back to his human form and they find the story to be true “[she] was banished. She was chased out of the country and disgraced.” (305-306). Her daughters are also “born without a nose” (313) which indicates the severity of her selfish betrayal, since future generations of women in her family are punished for her indiscretions. Bisclavret himself is also punished for his

selfishness but to a less extreme degree. His self interest in keeping his secret from everyone, directly results in his wife’s betrayal, and thus he loses the woman that he loves. In “Yönec”, the old Lord kills his wife’s lover by attaching prongs to the window that “were sharp at the tip and razor-keen” (287) thereby punishing his wife for her adultery. However, the old Lord too is punished for his selfish actions, as at the end of the story his wife tells her son (who was conceived with Muldumarec prior to his murder) how “her own lord betrayed them there” (538) and subsequently falls and dies on her lover’s tomb. Her son promptly takes “his own stepfathers head. Thus he avenged, with swordthrust, both his father’s and his mother’s death” (544-546). The Lord had previously believed that Yönec was his son, and he both discovers the truth of Yönec’s parentage and is killed quite quickly. The severity of the punishment the Lord receives indicates the severity of his selfish actions throughout the story. Because all of these consequences are so severe they demonstrate Marie de France’s distaste for selfish behavior. Although there are distinct differences between the stories of “Bisclavret” and “Yönec” their moral message is largely the same. Marie de France creates four characters who act out of self interest rather than the interest of their marriage and punishes them in severe ways such as death or banishment for doing so. By creating both extreme and sympathetic examples of selfishness within a marriage Marie de France criticizes both the nature of selfishness and illustrates how these selfish actions can destroy a marriage.