Loyal Beast Character Analysis

Whenever thinking of war and battle, the thought has always come to mind of Sun Tzu’s, “Art of War”. From there, my curiosity pinpointed on the relationships between soldiers and the bonds of loyalty that are formed in battle. The type of leadership defines the effectiveness of an operation. In this case, the leadership involves respectful acknowledgement and a leader who is aware of the needs of those in their command. The soldiers themselves must have affectionate love for their leader and to an extent each other in order to have a reason to be fully loyal. The abstractions I found in “Loyal Beast” written by Chretien de Troyes and “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” which was written by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, intrigued me, further, the keynotes of fealty and symbiosis were compelling by how they balance and feed off of one another. Symbiosis is defined as,” a relationship between two people or groups that depend on each other,” by the online Merriam-Webster dictionary which logically exemplifies the commonality between “Loyal Beast” and “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” by the example of the bond between

fellow warriors of codependence and trust.
The concept of fealty and symbiosis was compelling to me because of the concept that one cannot be truly loyal without getting some benefit in return. While I do believe the best in
people, the motivation behind actions continually surprises me with it’s ability to show the absolute worst of people with the best intentions. In “Loyal Beast”, Lord Yvain did not set out to save the lion, he initially, “[h]e asked himself which of the two he would help. Then he determined that he would take the lion’s part since a venomous and wicked creature deserves only harm […] Yvain determined that he would slay it first,” came to the conclusion of slaying the dragon first and the lion afterwards(Troyes 78). Had Lord Yvain not determined that the lion would be beneficial to him he would have killed it just as easily. While he eventually came to have respect for the lion, the motive behind initial action was in fact murder, this parallels to “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” when it comes to Elizabeth and Darcy’s relationship. When their relationships still in its newborn stages, Darcy insults Elizabeth egregiously and she then spends the majority of the book looking for revenge. While searching through different books I found the same kind of concept, Game of Thrones for example has a very easy comparison of Daenerys Targaryen and Tyrion Lannister. The only reason Daenerys allows Tyrion to be beside her is because he's her advisor and they have a mutually beneficial relationship of her offering him protection in return for his service. A symbiotic relationship constantly appears in history with instances such as Lords in medieval times offering protection to their serfs. This codependence and dual benefit of working together helps bond soldiers and humans in general.
The act of saving another life creates a life debt. The feeling that the person who was saved owes the savior and they must attempt to fulfill that debt. Filling a debt was integral in history so that one could not be manipulated. For some though, they submitted themselves to service, “ [m]y Lord Yvain recognized dearly that the lion was thanking him and submitting
because, in slaying the dragon, he had delivered it from death[…] the lion stayed by his side and never left him[…] for it intended to serve and protect him,” as a form of repayment because some felt that the only way to fill a life debt was to spend their life repaying that debt(Troyes 79). This relationship can be common among soldiers or in a much lesser extreme of just being an impetus for a strong bond of friendship. The novel “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” dictates the story of a family of sisters and their training to fight the zombies, known as unmentionables in the novel, as well as their raucous love lives in England. Having fellow warriors trust each other is of utmost importance when they are fighting for the same cause. Without trusting the knight to properly do right by him, the lion could have made a fatal error in trusting the knight’s judgement. Lord Yvain demonstrated the commonality between leaders that is also shown in “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” of taking care of those under your lead in repayment for fealty and trust.
While there is no life debt in the novel, there is the bond between fellow warriors and an eventual symbiotic relationship through Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet’s eventual engagement and subsequent partnership in the fighting of zombies.

Darcy and Elizabeth depend on each other for support emotionally and when they fight unmentionables together. While the novel follows the classic tale of “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen, the twist of zombies adds another layer of complexity to the relationships between characters. An example being when Jane, Elizabeth’s sister falls ill after riding in the rain and fighting a group of zombies along the way to pay a visit to the Bingley household, “Elizabeth attended her, silently worrying that her beloved sister had caught the strange plague,” the family is concerned that Jane may have fallen victim to

the
infection because in the book, the initial transformation into a zombie began when people were falling ill with the black plague and coming back to life a zombie(Austen, Grahame-Smith 30). The Bennet family displays incredible loyalty to one another, but they could not be the warriors they are without the balance of Mrs. Bennet, who’s the typical 19th century English wife, whom spends her time worrying about their marriage eligibility and the more frivolous aspects of the girls lives. Mr Bennet on the other hand is the equivalent of their commander their yin-yang relationship is clearly stated here, “the business of Mr. Bennet’s life was to keep his daughters alive. The business of Mrs. Bennet’s was to get them married,” which helps the reader understand the dynamic in the family and how the decision for Elizabeth and her sister to be trained came from Mr. Bennet( Grahame-Smith, Austen 9). The girls trust Mr. Bennet implicitly which in turn cements their loyalty and shows how their relationship with their father is symbiotic, he provides for them and teaches them how to defend themselves, while the girls provide extra protection for their estate and uphold their family name with honor.
Having a symbiotic relationship with troops or just fellow human beings is important because feelings of resentment and anger can build up when one person feels like they are doing more work than someone else, or the relationship is one sided. Insulting another person’s honor may also have unwanted consequences, “[s]he had never in her life been more insulted. The warrior code demanded that she avenge her honour,”which in Elizabeth’s case meant slitting Mr. Darcy’s throat at the first opportunity (Grahame-Smith, Austen 13). After their eventual reconciliation, Elizabeth and Darcy fight together amazingly and they trust each other implicitly. In “Loyal Beast” Lord Yvain trusts Lion who in turn serves him faithfully and becomes a scout
for danger. What’s interesting is that Lion could at anytime easily overpower Yvain and go on his way, but Lion feels such loyalty that he remains in servitude. A level of fealty that explains how some have the potential for an eclipsing of themselves in loyalty to someone else within them. Lion looks to Yvain for permission to hunt furthering his dependence and he then share his kill with Yvain which strengthens Yvain’s trust and dependence on Lion. The cogs of their relationship demonstrates how many warrior relationships are, full of loyalty and trust.
When I think of how I would define trust my thoughts come up searching for a way to word it. After contemplating this question I came to the conclusion that I would define trust as an inherent instinct towards other people and other animals that is founded upon previous and potential interaction with said human or animal in situations that fall upon the need for safety both mentally, emotionally, and physically. For instance I didn't believe Elizabeth fully trusted Darcy until her sister ran off with Mr. Wickham and she actually told Darcy of the occurrence. Elizabeth’s subsequent feelings on the matter, “ [h]is opinion of her was sinking; everything must sink under such a proof of family weakness, with such an assurance of the deepest disgrace. Never had she so honestly felt that she could have loved him, as now, when all must be in vain,” were what convinced me that she truly did love and trust him because she shared a part of her life with him that was considered scandalous and while she thinks he despises her because of it she truly comes to realize her feelings for him(Grahame-Smith, Austen 222). Part of the outcome of such close relationships often can be the impetus for romantic love, but there is also the love that comes with friendship and brotherhood. The love that comes with knowing survival came with working together and trusting each other.
Codependence and trust in battle torn countries are essential for survival and the flourishing of life. Having a symbiotic relationship helps establish that initial bond and maintain the fealty that follows. While pondering the concept that all actions have a significant chance of having malicious initial intent, it solidifies the belief that humans are flawed and forever fluid beings with a tendency to change beliefs if it’s beneficial. “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” and “Loyal Beast” both have overarching themes of battle and loyalty that help better define what relationships between soldiers and warriors are like which explains the levels of trust and dependence they exhibit. Any relationship must have elements of Yin and Yang, for without the horrors no one would be able to tell what heaven is.