That Obscure Object of Desire

3. Why do you think Buñuel uses two actresses to play the part of Conchita? Refer to specific scenes in which one or the other appears to support your answer.

The director uses two actresses to play the part of Conchita to show the two very distinct sides of her.  There is one character of Conchita that is very innocent and rejects Mathieu.  For instance, one actress is always the one who acts very chaste.  She wears a special underwear to prevent Mathieu from sleeping with her, and she constantly teases him by always telling Mathieu tomorrow will be the night which never actually happens.  On the other hand, the other actress is completely in touch with her sexuality, and she almost throws that in Mathieu's face.  She also professes her love for him constantly like at the club where she dances.  The other actress would never dance naked like his actress because the other one acts like a virgin while this one does not.  The director does this specifically to show how complex Conchita is by doing this.  She wants to act like the innocent virgin who rejects Mathieu's advances, yet she also wants to consummate her relationship with him.

7. Do you have any interpretation of the final moments of the film? (The sewing, the music, the explosion….)

I find the ending to be quite comical and very well done.  It would have been so easy for the director to overtly show us what happened, yet he uses the metaphor of the sewing and the explosion to keep us guessing.  The woman in the window is sewing a white nightgown that is stained red.  The camera then proceeds to zoom in on her hands which constantly thread the needle through the lace quickly.  Mathieu is so intrigued by this that he does not even pay attention to Conchita.  This symbolizes how Mathieu and Conchita have finally had sex.  Now that they have had sex, that first time is all Mathieu can focus on.  Just like Calisto, the best part of the relationship was the hunt.  Once they got what they wanted which was sex, they did not want the women anymore.  The explosion comes right after Conchita pushes Mathieu away from her.  This represents how their relationship is going up in flames.  They do not really love each other, it was more of a physical attraction. 

Celestina Day Five

Act 20 - Did it surprise you when Melibea commits suicide or were you expecting it? Were you expecting her to go through with it or did you think Melibea's father would somehow stop her?

 

It did surprise me a little bit that Melibea committed suicide.  To be honest, I did not really expect it.  At first, Melibea had very strong feelings for Calisto.  However, those feelings were more so that of puppy love or the rush of a new relationship; her feelings were not of genuine love.  I had assumed that once Calisto and Melibea had sex, their attraction would wear off.  Calisto had this idealized image of Melibea which he said was not there anymore after he actually had her.  I was not expecting Melibea to go through with the suicide because I figured that she understood that Calisto and her were not meant to be.  It was also shocking that Melibea's father did not stop her.  Throughout the entire romance, her father has being extremely controlling, and he tried to tell her how to live her life.  Therefore, it made no sense that when she actually needed him, he was not there for her.  To be honest, I think that this entire scene was a bit melodramatic.  There was no true love between Calisto and Melibea, yet she kills herself?  It seems more like a young teenage girl being overly dramatic over a break up.

Celestina Day Four

Act 16: Initially Melibea had a virginal facade; everyone
thought of her as extremely chaste and she seemed happy with
that. In this chapter, she and her servant overhear the
former's parents planning to marry her off and she gets very
"upset by the idea they have of [her] presumed state of
innocence" (168). In your opinion, has tasting 'forbidden
fruit' changed her outlook so drastically? Is this part of a
rebellion against the wall of oppression her father's made
for her?
While Melibea is more open about her sexual feelings, I do not think that this change is drastic.  At the beginning of the romance, Melibea acted very virginal and pure when she was talking to Calisto.  While she was physically a virgin, she was far from pure.  The first time Melibea talked to Calisto, she consistently kept saying that she was appalled, but her tone said otherwise.  There has always been an underlying falseness to her words.  She has always played the game of pretending to be chaste in order to get what she really wants which is sex.  Therefore, this change is far from drastic because she has always had a very sexual side to her.  I do believe, though, that her new found bluntness about sex is her way of rebelling against her father.  Her virginity is the only thing that he cannot control.  So to not be a virgin, it is the only way Melibea can upset her father.   

Act 17: "However, why do we possess common sense, if not to
look our losses in the eye and see that cosmetics and
clothes can make a lass beautiful, even when she's not, turn
an old lady into a young woman and a younger into someone
even younger? Face paint and birdlime are sticky traps we
use to ensnare men. Let's get out my mirror and some
cleaning liquid, because my eyes are in a proper state..."
(169-170) How does the above quote reflect the theme of
deceit in the story? If clothes and cosmetics changing one's
appearance is an ode to the whole notion of things not being
as they seem, then is there any significance to the latter
part of the quote (cleaning liquid, eyes in a proper state)?

Deceit and trickery is the most prevalent theme in this romance.  This mention of the make up and clothes not only has a metaphorical meaning but also a literal meaning.  Each character in the romance wears a mask, and does not show his or her true identity.  Therefore, the cleaning of the make up relates to how everyone needs to be honest in order to find themselves.  Because each character has this facade, it is necessary to wipe this away to see the reality of the situation.  Mentioning the make up and clothes also has an important literal meaning to the story.  All the women in the romance always have to have lots of make up on and wear the prettiest clothes.  For instance, Sempronio and Parmeno do not want to walk in on the women if they are natural.  Also, Celestina dresses Melibea up in order to attract Calisto.  Rather than letting Calisto fall in love with her because of her mind, she has to be pretty instead.  There is an incredible emphasis on beauty in this romance.  Therefore wiping the make up away, could also be literal, in that, it is time to accept women for how they really look and not a fake, unnatural look.

Celestina Chapters 7-11

Chapter 8

On page 98, Sempronio says: “not everything is white that isn’t black and not everything yellow and shiny is gold.” What do you think this means?

One of the biggest themes in this novel is trickery.  Calisto hires Celstina to in a way trick Melibea into reciprocating his love for her.  Sempronio and Parmeno are tricking Calisto into believing that they are helping him on his quest for love.  Then, ultimately, Celstina is fooling everyone in the story.  Another prevalent theme is morality.  This novel plays devil's advocate; it never specifically concludes that one action is bad or another is good.  Therefore, saying 'not everything is white that isn't black' implies that morality is a very grey area.  There is not any character in the novel that is necessary good or bad.  The boundaries of morality are not as strict.  Each character plays both sides.  On the other hand, 'not everything yellow and shiny is gold' alludes to how the trickery in the novel.  Even though Celestina's words appear to be honest, that is not necessarily the truth.  Also, Calisto firmly believes that Malibea is the most beautiful girl in the world, but just because he believes it to be so does not actually mean that she is.  In fact, Celstina and Melibea herself agree that she is not beautiful.   

   

Chapter 9

The issue of trust comes up many times in Celestina. In Chapter 9, on page 102, Sempronio says “out of goodwill or under pressure from us, Clestina will at least give us a piece of whatever she gets.” How is trust related to trickery here? Why do you think Sempronio and Pármeno are so trusting of Celestina, even though she’s tricking Calisto?

As it has been stated before, trickery is the sustenance that moves the novel along.  Each character tricks another character at some point in his or her own way.  I think that Sempronio ad Parmeno are so trusting of Celestina because they themselves are being fooled by her, as well.  Celestina puts on this facade of being almost like a mother figure to these two men especially Parmeno because she was friends with his mother.  She acts nice, genuine, and trustworthy.  In reality, she is the most intellectual keen on how to manipulate others.  I think Parmeno and Sempronio trust Celsetina out of denial.  Since she is tricking Calisto, they might assume that she is too busy to trick them.  Also, they are helping her, so they think that they have developed a friendship with her, therefore, they think she will not betray that trust.  Personally, I think that Celestina will trick Sempronio and not give him his share of the money, but I do not think that she will do this to Parmeno.  Celestina has a history with Parmeno, and she really loved his mother, yet it appears that Parmeno and Celesltina have a connection, too.  Either from a motherly or lover respect, I think that Parmeno will be the only one that Celestina will not take advantage of.

Celestina Chapter 3-6

Chapter 4, Question 2
"I think people describe life's merry go round as their
fortune finds it, for the rich sing a different tune."
What is the book saying about class separation, and how it
affects people's thoughts about life and how they live it?

 

It is very evident that in this novel, Celestina, there is a major separation between the social classes.  Celestina is considered as an outcast.  She is just an old spinster, whore who many do not openly associate with.  For instance when Celestina goes to Melibea's house, Melibea's mother acts dumbfounded as to who Celestina is.  In reality, everyone knows very well who Celestina is and her reputation.  While in secrecy people often go to Celestina for various reasons (i.e. physical pleasure, thread, hymen reconstruction, match making, etc.), people do not admit to it amongst others.  Because Celestina is seen as a poor, outcast woman, it would ruin others' reputations to be seen with her.  Therefore, externally there is this facade of separation.  This class separation does affect how they live differently.  When Celestina first meets Melibea, she tells her that "richer are those who have nothing than those who are."  Basically, Celestina makes it a point to say that poor people have it easier because they do not have as many worries as the rich do.  The rich always have to wonder if what people are saying to them is fake or not.  They do not know what true friendship means.  Also, they have to worry about their own family wanting them dead so that they can inherit their money.  Therefore, the poor are more able to live their lives in peace. 

In Act Five Celestina tells Sempronio that they will both
get rich off of their plan. Are Clelstina’s words to be
trusted? Is Sempronio foolish for trusting her? Or does it
seem that Celestina is tricking everyone for her own
personal gain?

 As I have stated before, Celestina is a very peculiar woman.  She never really shows any sympathy for others, rather she is a bit selfish as she only cares about her own personal gain.  While she is selfish, she is still a likable character because she is so open and unforgiving about who she is.  Clearly Celestina's words are not to be trusted.  Rather than being the master in sex, she is the master of deception.  She uses her words to trick others.  She is very sneaky, and not once have we seen her not fool someone.  Sempronio is very foolish for trusting her.  She could care less about making him wealthy (in fact, she alludes to only giving the others a 'bit' rather than their whole share).  Celestina is obviously tricking everyone else for her own personal gain.  Calisto is a fool for being ''ill with love,"  Melibea is simply naive, and Sempronio is just a gullible fool.  Celestina has spent her entire life mastering the art of deceiving others.  Being a prostitute, she knows exactly how to read others' weaknesses, and she knows exactly what to do to take advantage of that.  She clearly exceeds all the other characters in intelligence.  However, if the others are dumb enough to fall into her trap, then why shouldn't she take advantage of that for her own personal gain?    

Celestina Chapters 1 & 2

1. Analyze the opening scene in Melibea’s garden. Why a garden? What might a garden signify? How do you interpret the words of Calisto and Melibea? Why does Melibea react in this manner? Can we read these words as genuine?
In the opening scene of Celestina, Calisto is in a garden with Melibea.  In the garden, they go on to tell each other their feelings, or lack there of, for one another.  The garden is a very symbolic figure in this scene.  Typically a garden can be used as a metaphor for a woman's virginity.  Therefore, implying that Melibea is a chaste woman.  However, there is also another strong symbolic meaning to the garden.  In the story of Adam and Eve, the setting took place in a garden.  Eve eats the forbidden fruit in the garden and then goes on, according to some interpretations, to trick Adam into eating the fruit, as well.  This story definitely foreshadows what Sempronio later says about women.  Essentially, the garden represents that women are bad and will ruin men.  In this scene, Calisto goes on about his undying love for Melibea, while Melibea shows no interest in him whatsoever.  Rather, Melibea raves about how chaste of a woman she is.  I cannot read these words as genuine because they are too over the top.  Calisto seems to play the stereotypical man who sees Melibea once, yet he instantly knows that he loves her.  For Calisto, his love for Melibea is very vapid and shallow, and it is not based on any reality.  As for Melibea, if she really was so pure, why would she need to constantly remind Calisto of this?  It seems as if she is hiding something.  Therefore, this first scene was a bit over the top and dramatic to ever be taken as genuine.   


3. What are our initial impressions of Celestina? What type of character is this? What does she say which influences your analysis? What about her later exchanges with Parmeno? (And this back history with Parmeno’s mother – what do you think happens here?)
Celestina is a very peculiar woman.  In all of our readings thus far, we have never had a female character with such moxie and spunk.  She has a very negative reputation among her peers.  In fact when Parmeno begins to describe her, he goes on for a good page constantly repeating that she is a 'whore'.  Celestina is very well aware of this, and rather than trying to deny this, like many women in the other stories we have read try to do, she embraces it.  She is not ashamed of who she is, and the actions she does.  I could say that she probably the biggest feminist that we have read so far because she is so forthcoming about who she is.  Celestina is all about instant pleasures for herself.  She has sex often because it is sexually gratifying for her.  Then, she wants to steal Calisto's money by taking advantage of him because she wants instant money.  She is the type of character who is very selfish, and does not care about how her actions affect others.  We see this when she persuades Parmeno to help her and Sempronio into taking Calisto's money by 'helping' him gain Melibea's love.  Also, an important line she says to Parmeno is that "all is fair in love and war."  This statement holds very true to her character.  She takes whatever she can when she can because she honestly believes that if someone is stupid enough to get taken advantage of, then they deserve to get taken advantage of.  Parmeno already knows Celstina because he worked for her as a child.  When he tells Celestina this, she is in shock because he looks so different.  Parmeno goes on to tell Celestina that he thinks that she is just a 'whore', and Celestina replies back that his mother was 'a whore too.'  This is very important because she may be implying that his mother is similar to Celestina and used Parmeno for money, too.  

Decameron Blog #6

9.2: How do the Abbess actions/ her physical appearance

change the outlook of the Nuns at the end of the story?

At the beginning of the story, it appears as if the Abbess is the perfect stereotypical nun.  She stays up all night to catch another nun who has been accused of taking a lover.  While the Abbess is waiting up to catch the other nun in the act, she goes on about how immoral this is.  Contrary to the previous stories we have read in the Decameron about nuns, it seems as if this Abbess will actually uphold to the moral standards that a nun should have (but as we have seen, this is not always necessarily true).   When the Abbess is about to leave to catch the other nun in the act, she puts the priest's pants on her head thinking that it is her veil.  As she walks in on the immoral act, the nun sees the pants and realizes that the Abbess has also been up to no good.  Therefore, the nun is forgiven for her mistake and allowed to keep seeing her lover.  At the beginning of the story, the reader feels against the nun because of her wrong deeds, but at the end of the story, the reader is more critical of the Abbess.  The Abbess' actions completely change the outlook of nuns in the story because the Abbess is the highest position there is as a nun.  Therefore, it is expected for an Abbess to uphold all moral codes that are entailed in being a nun.  However, the Abbess is more of a hypocrite than anyone because she chastises others for what she is doing herself.

Decameron Blog #5

7:5 Question --- What do the narrator’s words in the prologue of the story tell us about how the society viewed the relationship between husband and wife? Has our society progressed from this viewpoint? Regressed?

This story is very different in the sense that this is the first time we see the man being so jealous over the wife which causes her to stray.  In previous story, it was, stereotypically, the wife who was jealous over the husband and his actions.  The prologue that the reader is given at the beginning of this story really sets the tone for the rest of the plot.  Here we have a man who controls every single action that his wife makes.  He monitors her daily, and to him, she cannot have any type of happiness that is not related to him.  In a way, this story makes it appear that in society it was perfectly acceptable for the man to hold the power in the relationship.  Implying, jealousy is okay for the man, but not okay for the woman.  Therefore, men can control women as much as they want to keep their jealousy a bay.  Clearly, Boccaccio does not agree with this.  The wife is far more clever in this story, and Boccaccio advocates that if a partner is too jealous in a relationship, then infidelity is inevitable.  To be quite frank, our society has not progressed much from this.  Even centuries later, there are still relationships were one partner is overbearingly jealous which causes the other partner to stray.  For instance in the 1950's, men had complete control over their wives.  In society, the wives had to stay home and disregard anything that could give them personal pleasure.  Therefore, one sees this theme of control still in modern society.        

All About My Mother Blog

1. The themes of : desire, desire to know about others, death, (re)birth. How does the film link them together?

 

Of all the themes in the movie, Almodovar ties these four the best.  These themes correlate to the movie plot itself.  There is the mother's desire not only for sexual relations, but also to have a child to care for.  Then there is Estaban's desire to know his father.  Because Manuela only had a brief affair with the father of Estaban, Manuela had to raise Estaban as a single mother.  Therefore, this fuels Estaban's need to know the other part of him.  Then Estaban is killed by a car when he is chasing after his favorite actress, Huma.  After which, Manuela works with a nun who is ironically pregnant by the same man who impregnated Manuela.  After the nun, Rosa, dies in childbirth, Manuela cares for Rosa's son whom she names Estaban.  Therefore for Manuela, there's a rebirth in opportunity for her.  Since she loses her first son, she now has the opportunity to in a strange way recreate him.  Almodovar uses these themes throughout the movie, to show that without one, the others would not be possible.  Therefore, life is merely a continuation of whatever occurred before it.

Decameron Blog #4

1) 5:8- Do you believe it is the women who have ‘power’ in this story, or the men? Explain using evidence from the text.

Nastagioung loves a young girl from the Traversari family very much.  He goes out of his way to impress her and win over her love.  He even goes as far to squander away all of his fortune for her.  Even though Nastagio does all of this for the young girl, his love goes reciprocated.  While it might appear that the young girl has the power in the story because she is capable of seducing Nastagio into doing anything for her, I think that it is the man who truly has the power.  When Nastagio invites the young girl for dinner, she sees the other girl who had been eaten by the dogs.  Therefore, she instantly agrees to marry Nastagio to escape from the same fate as the other woman.  In which case, it is Nastagio who truly holds the power in the story because he is able to gain what he wants. 

2) 5:9- What is your interpretation of the quote, “…I would much rather have a man who lacks money than money that lacks a man”? (pg. 431)

Just like in the first story, the main character, Federigo, loves a young woman, but his love also goes unrequited.  While Nastagio was very wealthy to begin with, Federigo is not.  All Frederigo has is a falcon which he gives to his love because he insists that he would do anything for her.  Personally, I think that this quote goes against the grain of the gender and social stereotypes during this time.  Typically he social ranks were very rigid and to marry someone from a different social class was obscene.  This quote shows that who someone is matters  more than what someone has.  The young girl agrees to marry Frederigo because she sees that he is a generous, and resourceful person who does not want her for her money.  He just wants to love her and make her happy. 

Decameron Blog #2

In the seventh story, Alatiel is arranged to be married to a sultan, but is lost on the way and is forced to be with numerous different men who love her before she returns to her arranged husband.  This story says much about desire, and gender.  When Alatiel meets Pericone, she rejects his sexual advances until she becomes drunk and gives into him.  As Boccaccio writes, "When she felt what it was like, never before having felt the horn men use to butt, she repented of having rejected Pericone's previous advances; and not waiting a second time to be beckoned to such sweet nights again, she often invited herself - not with words, since she did not know how to make herself understood, but with actions" (Boccaccio 132).  Gender wise, it was expected for a woman to be chaste and pure for her husband.  Therefore for Alatiel to be intimate with any man that was not her husband, this would be completely immoral.  However, Boccaccio uses this scene to show that desire is inside all of us, and it cannot be repressed.  Lust is a natural feeling and one should not eschew them, and rather should fulfill them.  Just like Alatiel, Massetto is mute, too.  Both of them have a hard time articulating what they want and think verbally.  However, the main difference between Alatiel and Massetto is that Massetto chooses to be mute to gain sexual advances, whereas, Alatiel does not have a choice but to be mute because of the language barrier.  Just like the previous story, Boccaccio is showing how actions speak far more than words.  By Massetto not speaking to the nuns and physically agreeing with their actions, he holds the power.  Therefore in a way, this means that silence gives Massetto the power in the story because it attracts the nuns even more.  The nuns often state how he lacks wits, but in actuality it is the nuns who are dumb because Massetto is clearly lying.  Overall, I think that both of these stories show that lust cannot be assuaged in any way, and that power comes from silence.   

Decameron Blog #1

In all honesty, I have never laughed as much as I have while reading the Decameron purely out of bafflement.  It is clearly evident that Giovanni Boccaccio's style of writing completely varies from Chretien de Troyes' style of writing.  One quote that peaked my interest is when Giannotto di Civigni tries to convert his friend Abraham.  Abraham tells Giannotto that he is going to visit Rome and if he likes it then he will convert to Christianity.  When Giannotto hears this, he thinks to himself that "If [Abraham] goes to the court of Rome and sees the wicked and filthy lives of the clergy, not only will he not convert from a Jew to a Christian, but if he had already become a Christian before, he would, without a doubt, return to being a Jew" (Boccaccio 40).  I was drawn to this quote because of its' irony.  Giannotto begs Abraham to convert to Christianity relentlessly, yet when Abraham agrees to go to Rome, Giannotto does not want him to go? This makes no sense whatsoever.  Right from the beginning, the reader is being shown the hypocrisy of religion which tends to be a continuous theme in Boccaccio's Decameron.  Another quote that I like is after Abraham returns from Rome.  During his stay in Rome, Abraham sees all the bad deeds done by the cardinals.  When he returns, Abraham tells Giannotto that he was disgusted by the cardinals, and he did not think that they are holy at all.  However, Abraham becomes baptized, and "he learned quickly and became a good and worthy man who lived a holy life" (Boccaccio 42).  To be honest, I disliked this story the most because I could not understand this ending.  This quote truly astonished me.  For an entire paragraph, Abraham rants about how unholy the cardinals are and how he would never want to be a part of such a religion, yet a couple of sentences later he says that he wants to join them.  I do not understand this sudden change.  I feel like Boccaccio should have eased this transition smoother because I do not understand how Abraham's feelings could change so quickly.  The other quote that I was drawn to is when the Abbott pursues the girl from the garden.  In his mind, he makes the situation okay by telling himself that "A sin that's hidden is half forgiven" (Boccaccio 48).  I was drawn to this quote specifically because of its' baffling quality.  Typically a man of high rankings in the church should know better than to break his chastise rules.  What really makes me laugh about the quote,though, is how faulty the logic is.  Boccaccio really shows how corrupt religion is which is a major theme throughout most of his stories.  All in all, I like all these quotes because they show the true character of religion.  All the stories unveil the facade that the church perpetuates.  Thus, showing how religion is based on lies.  While Chretien's work are still enjoyable, the heavily based influence in Boccaccio's works makes for a more interesting read.

Hable con Ella Blog

The director, Almodovar, really plays off the fairytale aspect with the relationship between Benigno an Alicia. Alicia is very much like Sleeping beauty, and Benigno is like her attentive prince who has come to her rescue to save her.  Benigno takes care of Alicia for four years, and it is not until Benigno is intimate with Alicia that she is finally saved just like how the prince saved Sleeping beauty with his kiss.  I think that Almodovar does this to show the falseness of the relationship.  Real relationships are not based on obsessions.  Besides, Benigno and Alicia's relationship is not based on a true connection because even when Alicia was not in a coma, she felt uncomfortable around Benigno.  Benigno in Spanish does mean benign, and Benigno does make it a point to tell Alicia that he is harmless when she is not  in a coma.  However, I think Benigno's feelings for Alicia are quite vapid and unrealistic.  Benigno does not know anything about Alicia rather than she is a very attractive woman.  In all honesty, I find Benigno to be rather pathetic.  He wastes four years of his life to attend to a woman who never had any interest in him to begin with.  For Benigno to honestly think that Alicia would want to marry him, not only takes away Alicia's right to choose for herself, but it also shows just how delusional Benigno truly is about this relationship.  Alicia could have woken up naturally, and not have wanted anything to do with Benigno.  And then what would he have done?  Therefore, Almodovar uses this relationship to show how real relationships are not fairytales.

Lola Blog

To be honest, I previously watched this movie years ago in my high school German class.  The first time I had watched this movie, I did not like it.  I found the movie to become a bit tedious and repetitive.  As in, how many times do I really have to watch Lola run through Berlin?  Since the movie became very dreary, I took the plot line for face value, and I did not dig deeper into the hidden meanings of the relationship between Lola and Manni.  But now after having watched this movie for a second time, I can see that not only does this movie convey much about gender roles, it also can clearly relate to Erec and Enide.  The relationship between Manni and Lola is quite tumultuous and a bit confusing.  The movie clearly shows the stereotypical gender roles of society through the use of Manni and Lola.  Manni portrays how men stereotypically expect their female partners to help them in times of need.  Whereas, Lola perpetuates the stereotype that females have the need to want to save their male partners.  This can relate back to Erec and Enide.  Erec puts Enide through any various trials just like Manni does with Lola to prove that Enide truly cares about him.  While it might appear that both men are the heroes, it is in actuality both of the women who are.  Both women prove that their wits are far superior to that of their partners.  Just like Enide, Lola proves her intelligent over Manni by being able to keep her secrets to herself without Manni's suspicion (i.e. at the end of the movie when Manni asks what is in the bag).  While I still find the movie to be a bit repetitive, watching it again has allowed me to be able to relate the themes of the movie back to Erec ad Enide.              

Yvain Blog #3

A certain aspect that I would like to touch upon is the character Lunette.  To be honest, I was a bit disappointed with Lunette in the end of the second part of the romance and the beginning of the third part of the romance.  When Lunette was first introduced in the romance, she was a strong female character, an in a sense she became the hero in the story and not Yvain because she helped his escape persecution.  However towards the beginning of the third section of the novel, Lunette transformed into a weak damsel in distress.  Originally she had appeared to be very clever, yet she was not able to use her wits to eschew death.  Therefore, she begged and pleaded for Yvain to save her life.  However, I was very happy to see Lunette's true character rise again when she suggested to Laudine to meet up with the King with the Lion (who is actually Yvain).  Lunette in my opinion is the only genuinely complex character.  All the other characters throughout the romance live up to his/her stereotypical roles, but Lunette does not.  Therefore, it was almost relieving in a way when Lunette tricked Laudine.  Chretien clearly put Lunette in the novel for specific reasons.  Most importantly, to show the irony of how the people who are supposed to be intelligent are actually quite blind to trickery.  Whereas, someone who is presumed to be uneducated and therefore dumb is the only person who truly has the intelligence and wits.   

Yvain Blog #2

3.) When Laudine's messenger comes to see Yvain, she tells Yvain along with the other knights how Yvain is a coward and unworthy of the queen's gracious love.  Yvain's reaction to this speech is very unsettling and distraught.  I think that he had this specific reaction because of shame.  Yvain clearly had a lot of shame for forgetting Laudine and the promise he had made to her.  Not only did he have shame because of Laudine, but he also had shame for the manner in which the messenger disclosed this information.  Laudine's messenger was not discrete with her words and she spoke very boldly not just in front of Yvain, but also King Arthur and his knights.  Therefore, Yvain also felt the shame of embarrassment in front of his peers.  The fact that Yvain was so distraught about breaking his promise to Laudine implies that a man's word is held to a very high standard.  Therefore if a man breaks his word, he should not only be guilt ridden, but he should also die.  In the wilderness, Yvain wanders around like a savage madman.  In a sense, Yvain truly looses his mind during this time.  He goes from being a proper knight to becoming a primal savage.  I think that Yvain needs to go back to basic living which is why Chretien added this part because he needs to be reminded that at its' basic core life is not about status or gossip; it's about survival.  Therefore, I interpret this part as a theraputic method for Yvain.  As for the 'cure', I think it merely acts as a placebo effect.  Yvain thinks that this lotion will cure the illness in his body, but his true sickness is only in his mind.    

Yvain Blog #1

1.)  In the prologue of Erec and Enide, Chretien writes that "one might find oneself holding in contempt something that is worth more than one believes."  As it turned out, this prologue eventually paralleled to both the writer himself and Erec.  For Chretien, he believed that his message throughout this romance was far more important than the reader could understand.  Therefore, it was necessary to write this romance because of it's worth.  On the other hand, Erec disregarded Enide's intelligence for the beginning of the romance.  It was not until later that Erec realized that what he was holding in contempt was Enide herself.  In fact, Enide ended p being an important factor to Erec: she warned Erec about the knights, and she was the catalyst for both of his awakenings.  In Yvain, there is no prologue.  This could mean numerous things.  For one, this romance may not be of as much worth to Chretien as Erec and Enide was.  Chretien made it a point to announce that he had a strong message in Erec and Enide, but he does not do this in Yvain.  Also in Erec and Enide, Chretien focuses a lot of the text on gender stereotypes and the stupidity of these knights.  However; Chretien does not do this in Yvain.  In fact, Yvain's marriage appears to be perfect.  Therefore; to Chretien this story has no deeper meaning for him.  The lack of prologue may also say that Yvain does not have anything of worth that is hidden.  Enide's intelligence was hidden to Erec, but she ended up helping Erec far more than he could have expected.  So far, the reader does not see the queen being any help to Yvain to help him develop as a character.  If anything, she acts like the perfect wife like that in which Erec had originally desired.  Thus; this lack of prologue may suggest that there is no deeper meaning throughout the romance for both Yvain and Chretien.  Chretien may be suggesting that the characters are superficial, and that this is yet another stereotypical tale from the medieval ages and nothing more.   

Erec and Enide Blog #3

One topic that personally stood out to me while reading the text was the theme of silence.  Chretien uses this throughout many scenes, but one in particular that stood out to me is when Enide believes that Erec is dead.  After Erec battled the Count, he was defeated and presumed to be dead.  While Enide grieved over her loss, she cried out the words, "A good silence never harmed anyone, but speaking often causes harm" (Chretien 94).  I find this quote to be very interesting, in fact, it actually made me laugh out loud.  It baffles me that this quote implies that lying is better than honesty.  As if, women are more helpful to their men if the always remain silent.  This quote also plays into gender stereotypes.  This scene depicts how a woman is expects to be silent, otherwise, it will only cause harm.  I, also, find it a bit humorous and ironic that because Enide did not obide by her expectation to be silent, she in return felt guilty for Erec's death.  In actuality, Erec's death was purely his own fault.  Another quote that uses the theme of silence is when Maboagrain recalls how he met his damsel to Erec.  Maboagrain goes on to say that, "[His damsel] asked a boon of [him] without first saying what it was," (Chretien 111).  When the damsel asked Maboagrain to make a promise to her, she remained utterly silent as to what he was actually agreeing to.  I find it a bit humorous that not once did he ever question her silence.  It seems to be a common theme throughout the entire story that men never question a woman's silence (even when they really should), and sometimes even encourage it.  I think that the theme of silence shows the stupidity of the men wanting women to be silent (as it seems that the women are much more clever than the men in the story). 

Question: What do you think is the significance of Chretien's recurring use of the theme of silence throughout the story?

Erec an Enide Blog #2

2) The very first words that Enide says throughout the entire text is when she tells Erec that she feels ashamed for basically taking away his pride.  Before Erec met Enide, he was a world renown, chivalrous knight, but now he has lost his fame and people are beginning to doubt his strength.  I personally think that her speech is truly genuine.  I think that she does love Erec, so she feels bad for changing him.  However, this guilt could stem from hidden feelings of disappointment.  In the beginning of the text, Enide's parents tell Erec that they have dreamed for their daughter to marry a valiant knight.  Since Erec gave up on his fights, Enide can feel resentment towards him because he is losing his prestige.  Erec interprets Enide's speech as if she no longer loves him.  He thinks that she now doubts his abilities as a knight.  Erec's reaction is understandable for his character.  Erec is extremely egotistical.  Also, nobody has ever doubted him before.  Therefore, Enide's reaction really shocks him.

3) Erec's intentions for taking Enide on the journey is to ultimately prove to her that he is still a valiant, and chivalrous knight.  Since he loves Enide, he does not want her to loose her admiration for him.  This journey is partially a journey of renewal and of pride.  On one hand, Erec wants to prove to the townspeople that there still is no knight that can overtake him.  When Enide tells Erec that people have been blaming him for not being a good knight, Erec replies that "Those who blame [him] are also right"(69).  Therefore, Erec embarks on this journey to prove to everyone else that he is still able to fight in order to cease all rumors.  On the other hand, this journey is also about pride for Erec.  Every time that Enide tries to warn Erec of danger, he continuously remarks that "[Enide has] too little esteem for [him]" (72).  Ultimately, Erec needs to prove himself to Enide.  He wants her to always think highly of him.  Therefore, he takes her on the journey to show her that he can still defeat anyone.

Erec and Enide Blog #1

4.  What is at stake for both, Yder and Erec, is their pride.  When the reader first meets Yder in the forest, the reader is given a sense that he is extremely egotistical.  He does not dare to speak to anyone himself (thus, he has his dwarf do this).  In addition to, the text implies that Yder believes that he can never be beat by any other knight in the world.  On the other hand, pride is Erec's vice as well.  His main intent throughout the text has been to avenge himself from the shame of being hit by Yder's dwarf.  Therefore, for both of these men, this contest is crucial for them to maintain their pride and their ego.  This contest implies much about gender and masculinity.  As Yder and Erec fight in the field, the text describes both of their women as crying, and praying to the Gods for mercy.  This implies that women during this time were considered to be very fragile and sensitive.  They were also expected to be extremely religious and remain loyal to their lovers.  Masculinity plays a big factor in this scene.  The entire fight emphasizes that these men feel like they have to protect their pride.  Therefore, they must defeat their enemy in order to keep his manhood. 

5. When Queen Guenevere dresses up Enide, this implies that Enide is finally becoming a woman.  They dress her up in the finest robes which transitions her into becoming a queen.  Therefore, she finally comes into her own, and her new life is finally occurring.  The dress itself can represent many things.  For one, it shows how superficial the noblemen are.  It’s not until after she’s wearing a fine dress that they describe her as becoming even more beautiful.  Therefore, insinuating that they only care about beauty.  The dress can also represent Enide’s life.  Her old dress was once tattered which represented how she was living a poor, measly life. Now she has a new dress which is represents her new life and all her parents’ hopes and dreams for her to have a better life.  Erec only sees Enide purely for her beauty and nothing else.  On numerous occasions, Erec has been informed that Enide’s intellect is far superior to her beauty.  Yet, Erec hardly acknowledges this and will only rave about her beauty.  Therefore, Erec only sees Enide as an item rather than a person.