Yonec's Relationship With The Fairy Knight Muldumarec

Literature throughout history often has the unfortunate quality of being misogynistic, especially by modern standards. While it is certainly a stretch to say that female writers are always kinder to characters of their own sex than any male author, it may be fair to say they are at least more familiar with the difficulties their female characters face. This is why, while it would also be a stretch to call Marie de France a feminist, especially by modern standards, it may be fair to say that she recognized a woman’s position in relation to world around her. It was this understanding of her status as a woman which influenced her work, as seen in both her treatment of the Lady in her lai, Yonec, and her adulterous relationship with the fairy knight Muldumarec. …show more content…
She is not permitted to leave the chamber, even to see her friends or family, and she slowly stops taking care of herself and her beauty fades due to her misery. The tragedy of her husband robing the Lady of her freedom aside, the lai also implies that this poor union was approved by the Lady’s family – and by extension, society – allowing her imprisonment by this monstrous husband. Marie states that the Lady “well-born”, which implies that marriages such as this were not uncommon at the time (25). The Lady’s health and beauty suffer as a result of her imprisonment, and this lai can be read as a criticism of a society that restricts a woman’s mobility even if she is