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Into the Wild: the Role of the Forest in Sir Orfeo, Sir Perceval of Galles And Into the Wild: The Role of the Forest in Sir Orfeo , Sir Perceval of Galles and Ywain and Gawain Annick Pin • 0013064 • Docteraal Thesis • Utrecht University • August 2008 First Supervisor: dr. Erik Kooper • Second Supervisor: dr. Thea Summerfi eld Into the Wild: The Role of the Forest in Sir Orfeo , Sir Perceval of Galles and Ywain and Gawain Annick Pin • 0013064 • Docteraal Thesis • English Language & Culture • August 2008 First Supervisor: dr. Erik Kooper • Second Supervisor: dr. Thea Summerfield For my parents TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE.................................................................................................. VII INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER 1: THE ROMANCE FOREST................................................ 3 § 1.1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 3 § 1.2. THE ROMANCE FOREST ........................................................................................... 3 § 1.3. THE ADVENTUROUS FOREST ................................................................................... 6 § 1.4. THE TESTING OF CHIVALRY .................................................................................... 9 § 1.5. TRANSFORMING THE WILD ................................................................................... 12 § 1.6. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................ 17 CHAPTER 2: SIR ORFEO ........................................................................ 19 § 2.1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 19 § 2.2. THE FOREST AS REFUGE ........................................................................................ 20 § 2.3. THE FOREST AS PLACE OF EMOTIONAL CRISIS AND DEVELOPMENT ....................... 23 2.3.1. Orfeo’s state of mind and initial forest experience......................................... 23 2.3.2. Grieving process ............................................................................................. 26 2.3.3. The recognition scene ..................................................................................... 30 2.3.4. Retrieval and return........................................................................................ 32 § 2.4. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................ 36 CHAPTER 3: SIR PERCEVAL OF GALLES .......................................... 37 § 3.1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 37 § 3.2. THE FOREST AS REFUGE AND HOME ...................................................................... 38 § 3.3. THE FOREST AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ...................................................... 39 3.3.1. Forest child ..................................................................................................... 40 3.3.2. A knight in fighting.......................................................................................... 44 3.3.3. A spiritual knight............................................................................................. 52 § 3.4. THE FOREST AND THEMATIC RELEVANCE ............................................................. 57 § 3.5. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................ 59 v CHAPTER 4: YWAIN AND GAWAIN ...................................................... 62 § 4.1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 63 § 4.2. THE FOREST OF THE WELL: ADVENTURE AND TESTING ......................................... 63 § 4.3. THE FOREST AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ...................................................... 65 4.3.1. Shortcomings as a knight and husband .......................................................... 65 4.3.2. Crisis and change ........................................................................................... 69 4.3.3. An improved knight and husband ................................................................... 72 § 4.4. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................ 81 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................... 83 BIBLIOGRAPHY....................................................................................... 93 vi Preface Ever since a child, I have enjoyed stories about the adventures of brave heroes venturing into the dark woods. During a course I followed on Robin Hood, I first became interested in writing my thesis about the forest in Middle English literature. When I finally started working on it and consulted my supervisor, I soon decided to narrow my scope and focus only on the Middle English verse romances. Writing this thesis has certainly been no picknick. Repeatedly, I found myself struggling, either lost in a wilderness of thoughts or fanatically striving for perfection. Unexpected sorrow also meant further delay. Fortunately, however, the stories I was writing about continued to keep me interested. Funny, fascinating and moving, they bear relevance even in our modern times. Yet it is thanks to the help of others that I have been able to overcome all obstacles and actually managed to finish this thesis. First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisors, Erik Kooper and Thea Summerfield, for their guidance, help and tremendous patience. I am also grateful to Feike Damstra and his afstudeergroep for their support and valuable advice. Finally, I would like to thank my friends and family for their unrelenting faith and support, especially my parents, Leonie, Dionne, Eveline and Frank. Thanks for listening! Annick Pin August 2008 vii Introduction The forest has been a popular setting in narrative literature from classical times to the twenty-first century onwards. Dangerous, mysterious, idyllic, tranquil or liberating, it greatly appeals to the imagination. In the Middle English verse romances, especially, the forest is one of the most prominent locations, as it frequently forms the scene where large parts of the action take place. 1 Indeed, many of these romances feature a protagonist who goes into the wild. In the Middle English romances, forests are usually presented in a similar manner and play a similar role, so that it is possible to speak of a standard or stereotype. In these stories, the hero – often a knight – generally leaves court and goes into the forest, located outside society and civilisation, in order to hunt. While hunting, he usually becomes separated from his hunting companions, which frequently happens when he follows his game too far into the woods. Subsequently, he is either interrupted by some hostile or mysterious character or becomes stuck in the forest, as a result of which he experiences a dangerous or marvellous adventure. After successfully completing this adventure, he then leaves the wilderness and returns to court. However, there are three Middle English romances in which the forest notably differs from the stereotype: Sir Orfeo , Sir Perceval of Galles and Ywain and Gawain . Not only do the protagonists of these stories have different motives for going into the woods but their stay is different as well. In addition, the events that take place in the forest are not necessarily adventurous in nature. Indeed, as a closer examination will show, the forests in these three romances play different or additional roles. Through close-reading analyses, this thesis will examine the role (or roles) which the forest plays in Sir Orfeo , Sir Perceval of Galles and Ywain and Gawain with regards 1 The genre of Middle English romances is difficult to define for the narratives classified as such may differ greatly. Indeed, A Manual of the Writings in Middle English distinguishes between no less than ten separate groups, yet even this categorisation offers no definitive solution (9-11). The Middle English romances most frequently discussed belong to the groups known as the Arthurian romances and the Breton lays. For the sake of convenience, only the Middle English verse romances belonging to these two groups will be considered here. 1 to narrative structure, the protagonist’s characterization and the story’s themes. In order to determine this, it is useful to consider the following aspects: the forest’s characteristics, the protagonist’s reasons for going into the forest, the nature of his stay and the events that take place here. Furthermore, this thesis will examine the way in which the role (or roles) of the forests in these three romances differs from the role of the stereotypical romance forest. In chapter one, the role of the stereotypical romance forest will be discussed, presenting its common features. In chapters two, three and four the role of the forests in Sir Orfeo , Sir Perceval of Galles and Ywain and Gawain respectively will be analysed, focusing on narrative structure, characterization and themes and examining the aspects mentioned above. The concluding chapter will discuss the analyses of the three romances with regards to the forest’s representation and role, outlining differences and similarities. In addition, it will offer a comparison between the forests as presented in these three stories and the
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