Nature and the Unnatural in Marie de France's Chevrefoil

Abstract

This study proposes that Marie de France's Chevrefoil characterizes Tristan and Isolde as living unnatural lives. The poem's central symbol of a honeysuckle and a hazel unable to survive being separated is suggested to highlight the lovers' acting contrary to nature. Drawing on the medieval tradition of appealing to nature as a norm for human behavior, the study explores the ethical implications of the comparison of the lovers to these plants. Marie's version of the legend shows Tristan and Isolde to act against the fundamental inclinations of human life in pursuing their relationship. Their unnatural desire is indicated to be the cause of their lost self-determination, failure to find happiness, and untimely death.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]