The Use Of Supernatural In The Lais Of Marie De France
Within Arthurian literature, the use of ‘faerie’, magic and the supernatural phenomenon play a pivotal role. When approaching the subject, one should consider what the supernatural entails. It is my understanding that circumstances of the supernatural most commonly involve a person with the ability to carry out mysterious or enchanting deeds. There is the uncertainty of the motives of these characters and what they are doing that is supernatural, such as disappearing and using magic. There is also the question of what the operators of the supernatural in such texts seek to gain by using their powers.
According to T. McAlindon, “The simplest form of the theme demonstrates the belief that magic, false gods, and the devil are inextricably connected. The magician aims to engage the saint in supernatural display or debate, thereby hoping to humiliate him publicly, to demonstrate the impotence of his God, to trick him into apostasy or the abandonment of his (or her) chastity”. Such characters use their powers to their advantage, which in turn drives the narratives they are a part of. Arthurian narratives can offer an array of different types of supernatural elements. By linking how such works approach the theme of the supernatural and uncovering supernatural nuances that distinguish them, readers are able to better understand the role of the supernatural in Arthurian contexts. It is my purpose in this essay to demonstrate the crucial importance of the supernatural in the structural framework of the Arthurian context.
Marie de France’s Lanval recounts the tale of a knight whose worth is unrecognized by the Arthurian court, and who is able to escape this arbitrary society through the love of an otherworldly fairy figure. A prominent motif in Lanval is the reality of isolation that the main characters experience as they deal with their supernatural situations. According to Frederick Hodgson, each character undergoes an alienation that attracts magical occurrence. In Lanval, the Otherworld changes Lanval’s life significantly, ascending him from a life of poverty to a privileged life with the faeries of Avalon. For instance, the fairy lady demonstrates the ability to perform magic. In Women as Image, Ferrante compellingly explains why women are considered to have supernatural powers: “Because she represents a force that man does not completely understand and cannot control, the lady is often said to possess supernatural powers.
But this magic, which seems to give her control over his destiny, does not work forever; when he betrays his love in some way, he frees himself of that power and loses its benefits”. For example, the fairy lady is able to magically appear in another place. Whenever Lanval summons her she leaves her present location and appears wherever he is. This ability aids her wish for secrecy. The fairy lady also has a talent for ‘eavesdropping’. Even though she is not present when Lanval betrays her, she still knows what happens. She tells King Arthur, at the trial, the details of Lanval’s and the queen’s conversation. Magic is a tactic that allows the fairy lady to maintain control over the relationship. She is able to pretend to not be in control, despite her dominating the relationship. Magic thus aids the fairy lady’s manipulation of her relationship with Lanval so that he does not suspect that she is in charge overall. Marie de France plays on the shifting manifestations of the otherworld, which seems to be typified by ambivalence and enigma.
Similarly, the complexity of the faery is heightened by the supernatural. The first twenty lines constitute the introduction in which the alienation of Lanval from Arthur’s court is augmented through the description of royal affluence as the “knight who was unremembered was Lanval” which reinforces Lanval’s alienation from the court. This alienation is in stark contrast to the his arrival at the meadow where he meets the servants of the fairy as “fairer maidens Lanval had never seen” which serves to foreshadow the reversal of fortune that the otherworld will provide. The otherworld is thus set up as an alternative reality to the injustice of Arthur’s court. Marie de France therefore uses the otherworld of Celtic mythology as it lends itself to an alienated figure who must overcome his social world in order to love. The structure of the lay therefore relies heavily upon the supernatural, which is essential to the development of events rather than being added merely for decorative purposes.
Moreover, the thematic convention of magic serving as a female dominated enterprise is present in most Arthurian literature. The fairy lady provides a powerful manifestation of the supernatural as her magic is symbiotic with the feminine realm of love and desire and is presented ambiguously. According to Kinoshita and McCracken, authorial emphasis of physical beauty functions to emphasize “a cluster of noble qualities” within the otherworldly woman; her physical appearance implies that she possesses desirable courtly and chivalric qualities. The sensuous fairy woman is conscious of the intoxicating effect that her appearance has on King Arthur and his knights; she uses her appealing body to communicate her desires and to wield almost hypnotic power over the dominant male figures in the rigid, patriarchal Arthurian court. Marie de France carefully introduces the sense of the supernatural by detailing the mysterious trembling of Lanval’s horse in the meadow. The elegant lady presents her exquisite body but her identity is never made explicit. Lanval is the desired object for the lady and her love is shown through the wealth she bestows upon him and the open gift of her body. As is typical of this narrative pattern, however, wish fulfilment is also dependent on a magical condition. The lady sets Lanval a test of secrecy, disappearing and then finally reappearing at Lanval’s trial. Her dominance is acutely shown when she actively carries him away on her palfrey “to Avalon”. This otherworldly magic is a form of wish fulfilment and Lanval’s honour is rewarded with the love of the beautiful lady and a place within her world. The fairy lady also makes use of her body as Marie details that “The lady entered the place, where no one so beautiful has ever before been seen” and “they had looked at her and praised her beauty greatly, she spoke”. The lady’s supernatural powers are made of use as she allows the court to admire her beauty. She very skilfully uses her body as a way to release Lanval.
The lady’s influence can be seen as negated, however, the fairy lady not referred to as a “fairy lady” but is a “maiden” from a far land. Laurence Harf-Lancer states, “The romance texts from the years 1160-1220 that most clearly affirm the supernatural nature of these characters at the same time dent them the denomination ‘fairy’”. While Lanval acknowledges the fairy lady’s magical power, he does not categorise her as a fairy. The reference to her as a maiden as opposed to a fairy by Lanval implies that he views himself as being dominant in the relationship and the fairy lady obeying his every desire. Pam Whitfield adds to this, arguing that ‘she takes in a passive, serving role toward the man, awaiting his cue’. This interpretation fails to assess the role of the fairy lady. She is not the submissive lover as Whitfield portrays her to be. While it is true that the fairy lady arrives when Lanval wants her, this is only facilitated by her coming from another world.
Being of supernatural powers, she is able to summon Lanval as she does before their first meeting. The power of the relationship thus belongs to her, but she allows it to appear on Lanval’s terms so that he will be her lover. Lanval is subject to the lady’s rules as “you would lose me forever if this love were to become known”. Through this, the lady tests Lanval and will only grant him wealth if he remains loyal to her. Whitfield’s interpretation fails to acknowledge that most of Marie de France’s female characters submit to their male lovers but instead it is Lanval who submits to the fairy lady. She tells Lanval, “Fair friend, for you I came from my country”. A female offering her love to a man not only is unusual, but it is the lady’s supernatural and magical nature that allows her to be independent of social norms. The fairy lady, being of supernatural power, cannot accept submission to a man. Most Arthurian literature present women with magical powers requiring restraint but Marie de France uses the supernatural to render the fairy lady as autonomous and able to exist independently as she does not become part of Arthur’s court.
Thematic impressions of the supernatural and manifestation of the otherworld being interwoven within Arthurian narratives creates a dynamic result. Overall, the supernatural plays an essential structural role without undermining the themes of the text, instead it augments them and makes it clearer for the audience or reader to see. The use of magic and the otherworld drive the plot of the story and play on the wonder of God’s power and exoticism.
Bibliography
- Burne-Jones, Edward. “The Beguiling of Merlin”, 1874.
- De Beauvoir, Simone. “The Second Sex”, (London: Vintage, 1997), pp.15.
- Ferrante, Joan. “Woman as Image in Medieval Literature”, (New York: Columbia University Press, 1975), pp.74.
- Harf-Lancer, Laurence. “Fairy Godmothers and Fairy Lovers”, Arthurian Women: A Casebook, (New York: Garland, 1996) pp.142.
- Hodgson, Frederick. “Alienation and the Otherworld in Lanval, Yonec, and Guigemar”, Commitatus: A Journal and Medieval and Renaissance Studies, (1974), pp.19-21.
- Kinoshita, Sharon and McCracken, Peggy. “Marie de France: A Critical Companion, (Cambridge, Brewer, 2012), pp.60-65.
- Marie de France, Glyn S. Burgess and Keith Busby. “The Lais of Marie de France”, (London: Penguin, 1999), pp.11-92.
- McAlindon, T. “Magic, Fate, and Providence in Medieval Narrative and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”, The Review of English Studies, New Series, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1965), pp.126-128.
- McClintock, Anne. “Imperial Leather: Race, Gender and Sexuality in the Colonial Contest”, (London: Routledge, 1995), pp.124. Said, Edward. “Orientalism”, (New York: Vintage Books, 2003), pp.9.
