Chevrefoil - Marie de France

This lai was a little confusing and different than the other lais we have read this semester. There is the typical love triangle in which the woman is stuck in a platonic relationship, wanting a relationship with a man she cannot have. In this case, the Queen is in love with the King's nephew, Tristram. Because of this love between the Queen and Tristram, the King "banished him beyond his border because of the Queen, for he loved her."

"He could not go back to see her. But then he's ready to risk it all -- death, destruction, any downfall...Any true love who loves loyally suffers, and depression haunts him when he can't have what he wants."

Tristram is distraught as a result of being forced away from his lover, the Queen. He is dying because he is in so much pain of losing her and knowing that he could not have her. He could not let this happen. He shows how powerful true love is - he does not care about anything but seeing her. He was going mad because of this love. "He hid himself in the forest alone, wanting to be seen by none." He would wait for her. He just had to see her. Love will make people do crazy things. He was smart enough to plan everything out to get his lover back. He was patient and waited for the right moment. Emotions rush back when they see each other again, however, it is not for long. "Now she goes, she leaves her friend there. But when it's time for them to sever, each begins weeping for such a lover. Tristram goes back to Wales as before. Till his uncle commands that he be sent for." Their love was severed once again and only time will unite them again - they just have to be patient and wait.

Marie de France uses the image of a honeysuckle vine to describe the two lovers. "For those two, it's just like with the sweet honeysuckle vine that on the hazel tree will twine: when it fastens, slips itself right around the trunk, ties itself tight, then the two survive together." It is a symbol of their love. I personally love this symbol for love and believe that it is accurate. If two people truly love each other, they need each other to survive. They need the other person at their side to thrive and survive. And for some reason if that person is gone for a period of time, their other person feels as if a piece of them is missing and lost.

The end of this lai reminds me of Chaitivel and she is turing this story into a work of art, writing about his talents and beauty through his music to help keep the memory sharp.