Erec and Enide - Day One

Answer at least two questions or come up with your own topics for discussion.

1. We always need to pay special attention to the beginning of a text, for here the narrator orients the reader on the journey that is to start. What information does Chrétien provide for the reader in the opening lines of this romance? Why the proverb/s (and how do we interpret this in conjunction with the story that follows)? What is Chrétien trying to do here in this prologue?

2. How would you describe the opening scene in King Arthur’s court? What evidence in the text brings you to your ideas? We have the idea of a contest and the outcome it will bring. What might the possible ramifications of this contest imply (about gender, the court, society, etc.)?

3. How would you characterize the two main characters (Erec and Enide)? Do you see any (potential) problems here? How does the text portray them (we can assume the beautiful maiden is Enide, though the text does not inform us of this fact – think about possibly why)? (Difficult yet thought-provoking question: Why does the text describe Enide in this way: “She was truly one who was made to be looked at, for one might gaze at her just as one gazes in a mirror.”? What is it to gaze into a mirror? What does one see? Are there any figures from mythology transfixed by a mirror image?)

4. What do you make of the second contest in the text (the sparrow-hawk)? What is at stake here? What are the implications of this concerning gender, power, masculinity, etc.?

5. What does the scene in which Queen Guenevere dresses Enide imply? What does this dress represent? What does this have to say about Enide’s character and about the way Erec views this woman?