A Literary Analysis Of Aesop's Werewolf '
Tyler DeFoor
Oxoby
CH 201
12 May 2014
Aesop’s Werewolf In Marie de France’s “The Were-Wolf”, after baron Bisclavaret’s wife finds out he is a werewolf, she quickly rats out his secret to a knight that has wanted her hand in order to get rid of the baron. Later in the story, Bisclavaret and his wife meet up again while he is permanently stuck in wolf form. He ends up gaining his humanity back and the King drives his wife and her knight husband out of the land. If this were one of Aesop’s fables, the moral of the story is to never betray love, as can be seen from the consequences of Bisclavaret’s wife’s betrayal. The beginning of the story talks about how in love Bisclavaret and his wife are. “All his love was set on her, and all her
love was given again to him.” This quote shows that the love between the two is deep and sincere, something no horrible truth should stand in the way of. After the baron tells his wife his horrible truth, that he is a werewolf, she immediately devises a plan to get rid of him. After she betrays the man she swore she loves, Bisclavaret’s wife enjoys her new position for a brief time. After about a year, her betrayal catches up to her. Bisclavaret tears off her nose, revealing that he hates her more than anything. After the King and his court figure out a way to cure Bisclavaret, they return all of his lands to him and kick his ex-wife out of the country forever. Had she not betrayed her husband and true love, she would have lived happily with him forever. Instead, her betrayal brought momentary happiness, followed by a long time of suffering. There are several ideas in “the Were-Wolf” that could be thought of as morals. The most prominent of these ideas boils down to when someone betrays true love, there are dire consequences. This is shown very thoroughly in the chain of events that leads to Bisclavaret’s wife’s eventual downfall.
Oxoby
CH 201
12 May 2014
Aesop’s Werewolf In Marie de France’s “The Were-Wolf”, after baron Bisclavaret’s wife finds out he is a werewolf, she quickly rats out his secret to a knight that has wanted her hand in order to get rid of the baron. Later in the story, Bisclavaret and his wife meet up again while he is permanently stuck in wolf form. He ends up gaining his humanity back and the King drives his wife and her knight husband out of the land. If this were one of Aesop’s fables, the moral of the story is to never betray love, as can be seen from the consequences of Bisclavaret’s wife’s betrayal. The beginning of the story talks about how in love Bisclavaret and his wife are. “All his love was set on her, and all her
love was given again to him.” This quote shows that the love between the two is deep and sincere, something no horrible truth should stand in the way of. After the baron tells his wife his horrible truth, that he is a werewolf, she immediately devises a plan to get rid of him. After she betrays the man she swore she loves, Bisclavaret’s wife enjoys her new position for a brief time. After about a year, her betrayal catches up to her. Bisclavaret tears off her nose, revealing that he hates her more than anything. After the King and his court figure out a way to cure Bisclavaret, they return all of his lands to him and kick his ex-wife out of the country forever. Had she not betrayed her husband and true love, she would have lived happily with him forever. Instead, her betrayal brought momentary happiness, followed by a long time of suffering. There are several ideas in “the Were-Wolf” that could be thought of as morals. The most prominent of these ideas boils down to when someone betrays true love, there are dire consequences. This is shown very thoroughly in the chain of events that leads to Bisclavaret’s wife’s eventual downfall.