Common Betrayal

Bisclavret is betrayed by his wife. She is seen as a kind person with no intention of wrong-doing when Bisclavret reveals his secret (that he’s a werewolf). Bisclavret’s wife continues to deepen her dishonor by calling on the knight who loved her to say “‘I grant you that which has tormented you…I offer you my love and my body; make me your mistress’” (69). Bisclavret hid his true nature from his wife until she tormented him to reveal his secret. The other knight had loved her for a long time and she then steals the clothes Bisclavret needs to turn back into a human, hides them, and then goes after the knight. Betrayal can be seen on Bisclavret’s part too, since he didn’t reveal to his wife that he transforms into a werewolf before they married. A common theme seen throughout the stories of this time period is this thought of betrayal. We saw in other Marie de France compositions that adultery or betrayal from either the husband or wife is consistently common. I find this interesting because back then divorce really was not a thing so women or men had to deal with their misfourtunes. If a man or woman were to betray or commit adultery against their husband, it was highly rare that they got something similar to a divorce, instead they just had to deal with it. Today in our world, this lack or unattainable seperation between a couple who have betrayed oen another would cause a lot of problems. There would be a lot of unhappy people in the world.