Themes Of Violence In Bisclavret

In the most basic sense, violence refers to a deliberate action of physical force towards a person in behaviour of treatment (OED). As discussions of violence have evolved in modern times, it can also refer to emotional or psychological harm. Marie de France’s “Bisclavret” illuminates the complexities of ‘violence’ as an action that has the capacity to isolate, humiliate and control someone. Marie de France’s Bisclavret tells the tale of a man cursed into a werewolf for a few days each week. Bisclavret eventually tells his wife of his secret, and she betrays him, isolating him from civilization. Events lead to him being brought back into the kingdom and ultimately he gets revenge on his wife and her new family. The relationship of Bisclavret …show more content…
The werewolf of this story is symbolic of the hidden violence and beastly nature within humans. Surprising to those that meet the werewolf Bisclavret, he is kind and gentle when outwardly he appears monstrous and frightening. This reversal of expectations is a common theme present throughout this story--where a woman is labelled a villain for extreme reactions, human Bisclavret is beloved as a “good knight,” and even a king whom would be expected to only accept nobility in his inner circle, takes in a beast. Reversals are also present in the text, such as when the wife suddenly changes her mind about her husband—telling him she loves him one minute and then turning her back on him the next. Marie de France injects her lai “Bisclavret” with a substantial dose of irony in the inversion of expectations as rarely anything is at is …show more content…
The lai asserts that Bisclavret had been sneaking off for three days each week without providing his wife any explanation. Bisclavret’s continual abandonment of his wife effectually isolated her in their relationship, leaving her to imagine the worst when he was off in his secretive world. The wife is described as “troubled,” having felt “anxious,” “sad,” and weary of questioning him as she was “afraid of [his] anger” (24-45). The author uses the repetition of intense emotions to express the wife’s poor emotional state in response to her husband’s actions. While a pattern of abandonment is bound to cause feelings of anxiety and sadness, being afraid of his anger implies that Bisclavret has a temper which is hidden from the reader. Even when he explains his curse to her she insists that she loves him, and only after explaining the vulnerability and harshness of his journey does she become “red with fear,” wanting to “get away” (98-101). The sudden flip in her opinion is indicative of a person with fragile emotions caused by an abusive