Love In Marie De France's Lai Le Fresne

There are no more powerful demons in the world than pure infatuation, and no angels that are sweeter than love. In Marie De France’s lai Le Fresne I see elements of maternal and romantic love. In This Lai, I’d define love as strong affection that results in caring for another, even if it leads to no advancement in society. Le Fresne’s mother judged her neighbor who birth twins, claiming that she had to have slept with two men. However, when she gave birth, she too had twins. Le Fresne’s mother felt as though she had to let go one of her girls. Instead of taking the backlash from society that she has caused, she gave her baby to the world, without knowing if she were to be cared for, or to be thrown to the wolves. As I am reflecting on this …show more content…
She was willing to set aside her care, and subsequently, her love for her daughter for the acceptance from society. Le Fresne grew up to be a beautiful person inside and out, which made Gurun fall infatuated with her. They were to marry, but not in the traditional marriage of that time. Gurun actually loved Le Fresne as defined above. However, Gurun was convinced by others that Le Fresne was not in a good enough class for him to make advances in society with. He then left to marry another, who ended up being Le Fresne’s sister. This is the epitome of a classical tragedy. Le Fresne may have been able to marry Gurun to begin with if her mother would not have left her behind for her benefit. Le Fresne’s mother recognized her daughter, and fell in love with the person she became to be. This love, the one that overpowers all voices of the critiques of society, she remembers and gives to her daughter. This mirrors when Gurun is introduced to Le Fresne and they become induced by her being. Even in modern day society, I believe we become so infatuated in finding a partner that you can build a strong foundation with: house, car, and extra disposable