Marie de France's "Eliduc"

Paper Summary:

This paper introduces and discusses Marie de France's "Eliduc," which is a typical Medieval story of courtly love. It describes the plot of the story, as well as the main characters. The paper then discusses Gayle Rubin's theories about the the social conventions of the story of "Eliduc" in her work, "Traffic of Women." It also describes how Rubin specifically looks at the social conventions regarding the gender differences in Marie de France's story.

From the Paper:

"By taking the example of the animals, the characters highlight the importance of unrestrained desire, which does not wait for social confirmation or acceptance of an action. Expectedly, the triangle would have been solved either with Guilliadun's death or with the sacrifice of the unlawful couple. Here however, social oppression is shaken off by the sacrifice performed by Eliduc's wife. Without further thought, she is so rejoiced at the revival of Guilliadun that she decides instantly to go to a convent and take the veil, thus leaving her husband free to marry his chosen lady. Love is thus placed hierarchically above the constraining marriage. The end of the story brings back the reconciliation of the characters with God, as they marry and then all retire to a convent: "Eliduc married his beloved; the celebrations were conducted with great honor and a noble service on the day of their wedding. They lived together for a long time, and their love was entirely courtly. They gave generous alms and did good deeds, until finally they turned towards God."("Eliduc") Earthly love and divine love are thus brought together and reconciled."

Sample of Sources Used:

• De France, Marie. Eliduc. http://www.yorku.ca/inpar/eliduc_mason.pdf
• Rubin, Gayle. The Traffic of Women: Notes on the Political Economy of Sex.

More papers on Marie de France's "Eliduc":

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• Essay # 68636 : "Marie de France and Courtly Love"

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