Close Reading of Les Deus Amanz
Close Reading of Les Deus Amanz [approx lines 160-210]
In the age of chivalry, men are expected to achieve greatness through their power and strength as well as have the great state of mind to treat their women with such tenderness and courtesy as has never been known. Such a difficult task of contradictions has become evident in Arthurian Romances and other works. In a selected section of Les Deus Amanz, the young man begins his great journey as he attempts to carry his beloved to the top of a mountain so as to take her away for his bride. However, his struggle against this natural obstacle becomes much more as his body begins to weaken further up the mountainside. Marie de France makes evident in her short lay the young man’s inner struggle with his own identity as it relates to his own and the societal expectations of chivalry.
The most prevalent theme in this section is that of the young man’s refusal to drink the potion. The potion, obtained earlier from the lady’s aunt, will allow the young man to “recover his strength,” a clear advantage in his quest many others have failed (84). Immediately, however, he gives this potion to his beloved as he knows, “that she has no wish to let him down” (84). From this moment, the young man has already distanced himself from the thing that will aid him, proving his discomfort with the idea of help from another source. He has also acknowledged his beloved’s desire to please him and, in turn, his own need to please others. He will stop at nothing to conquer the awaiting obstacle using nothing but his own powers. Two times as he is climbing, the young maiden urges that he drink and ease his suffering, yet, he continually refuses to stop for a drink even after he has climbed “two thirds of the way [and] he nearly collapsed” (84). His refusal signifies his desire to accomplish his goal through his own ability. Even as he recognizes his own limitations, he “carried her onward in great pain” because the identity he has constructed for himself is one in which his determination and his love will help to surmount this great obstacle. It is a chivalric desire to please both his physical and mental self as well as his beloved.
This identity was aided in part by the townspeople who assembled to watch the spectacle. As the couple reaches the halfway point on the mountainside, the young man says, “‘these people would shout at us and deafen me with their noise, and they could easily distract me,’” (84). The crowd that is following is a societal attitude toward the two lovers. It is the people who created the impossible image of the hero the young man is attempting to be. While the young man worries about being deafened by their shouts, the idolization of a perfect man has already been implanted within his mind and he has deafened to his own better judgment, like when he denies the potion discussed above. Even the narrator discusses his strong resolve and worries for his well being as the comment is made, “I fear it will be of little avail to him, because he knew no moderation” (84). It is the “distraction” of the people that keeps him from achieving his goal and winning his bride because he has accepted society’s adoration of chivalry and pushes himself beyond his own physical boundaries. His attempt to attain such hero status results in his death at the end of this short passage.
The valiant ideal—the love conquers all attitudes—is shown as an ironic undertone in many of Marie de France’s lais and helps to further define and create the identity of the noble hero the young man strives to attain. He and the lady love one another as is seen in their discourse; he calls her “fair one” and she addresses him as “my love” (84). Yet, neither can look at the tragedy caused by the deeds done in the name of love and do something to prevent them. It is the maiden who brought the young man “such great happiness that he did not remember his potion” and thus hastened the end of his life (84). Love as a part of these characters makes them forget their own being to form a new identity in which the other is a present force. In doing so, the desire to please one’s love creates willingness in the young man to endure great hardships for its sake, even as he feels the distress of it beginning to take a toll on his life.
Through her use of imagery and language Marie de France is able to tell almost an entire story in a few brief paragraphs. Her language is concise which emphasizes that each sentence must tell an important part of the inner struggle within the character to reach a successful climax. Her writing of Les Deus Amanz shows the exhausting struggle an individual experiences as he struggles to create a balance of strength and mildness as is present in the chivalric hero; it is an identity that encompasses the ideals of himself, society and his love.
