For the study of this text, Erec and Enide, we will use the edition of Jean-Marie Fritz, based on the BN manuscript. Fr 1376, The book de Poche, “Gothic letters” n° 4526, 1992. Here is the first part of the study: the role of women.
The Lady demands respect and protection.
Whether she is a maid or a “lady”, a woman must be respected and protected: thus, the affront suffered by Queen Guinevere during the white deer hunt forces Érec to leave without delay to avenge her, this affront was direct, or indirect (it was the “maid”, the next one, who was struck).
In the same way, the cries of a virgin in danger constitute for a knight an absolute obligation to help her, whatever the price: this is how Erec will set off in pursuit of two giants.
The Lady and the Knight: an inseparable couple.
Just as there cannot be a “knight” without a lady (thus Erec is not admitted to the hunt until he has a lady), there cannot be a lady without a knight: before having met Érec, Enide is only an anonymous virgin, subject to the authority of her father, and waiting for a husband. At most, she can reject suitors who do not suit her – to a certain extent.
But it is not enough to be chosen by a knight to automatically become a lady: thus, the laudatory portrait of Enid, c. 2409-2429, summarizes the duties of a “Lady”: she must be beautiful, wise, good, generous, and above all of impeccable conduct. His nobility of heart must in short be perfectly reflected in his appearance; she must do honor to her knight. Enide's cousin, who locked her husband in a "prison of love" which prevents him from fully being a knight, cannot be a lady, and is only ever referred to as a "maid".
An ambiguous status.
The status of the Lady seems quite ambiguous: on the one hand she exercises a certain moral authority, and can advise her husband: Guinevere thus obtains the postponement of the kissing ceremony until Erec's return; but at the same time, she remains in a subordinate status, which imposes obedience on her: when Erec demands that she tell him the cause of her tears, then when he orders her to ride before him in her most beautiful finery, thus becoming a target that he will defend to recover his rank, she can only comply; and when she is led to disobey him, for example by warning him of danger, she is severely reprimanded.
And if Chrétien's first novel constitutes an exception, usually, the Lady remains confined to the castle, while the knight engages in hunting, tournaments, or goes on adventures...
We can see this with Queen Guinevere: she can intervene in matters that concern court life: she advises the King to postpone the "kiss of the white stag", welcomes Enide and offers her her own clothes, and participates in the organization of marriage, at least as far as women are concerned. But she plays absolutely no political role with Arthur, who reigns and decides alone.
In short, it is for his Lady, and thanks to her, that the knight acquires and maintains his status; but for him she is little more than a goal, and not a real companion. In the Middle Ages, heroism was not a woman's affair.
Rather abused women
The woman as prey
If the role of the knight is to protect and rescue women, it is because they often find themselves in great danger. Several episodes show this:
- Enide, forced to ride in front of Erec, plays a real role as bait, so that her husband, by protecting her, regains his status as a knight. And in fact, when meeting the robber knights, they will want to seize both the horses and the lady!
- On several occasions, when Érec finds himself absent or in a weak situation, Énide almost gets kidnapped by force: first by Count Galoain, who does not hesitate to betray the laws of hospitality, then by the Count of Limors, who will want to take advantage of the supposed death of the knight to seize his Lady.
- It also sometimes happens that the young girl does not interest the bandits, and is then abandoned in the middle of the forest: this will be the case of the “maid” rescued by Érec during his first adventures.
Male brutalities
Worse still: chivalric ethics underlines, by contrast, the extreme brutality of medieval society, particularly towards the weakest, and therefore women.
- The novel begins with a lash hit full in the face of a young girl;
- Then, on two occasions, it is Enide herself who is threatened, and even struck, first by Count Galoain, then by the Count of Limors.
Conclusion
Women are therefore never, or almost never, actors of their destiny. When one of them takes power (the maid of “Joy of the Court”), she is condemned, and ends up losing all influence: once Mabonagrain is freed, she can only cry. Likewise, once Erec's "recreation" is revealed, Enide will have no other choice but to follow her knight.
Even the proud virgin who accompanies Ydier appears little more than a stake: whether he loses or wins the fight, she can only suffer...
Cervantes' Don Quixote will in short only prolong this situation to the point of absurdity: deep down, does the "Lady of his thoughts" really need to really exist?
