9/29 Marie de France #5a

Lanval & Joseph
The story of Lanval is similar to the story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife in the main story line and personalities of the main characters. The main characters, Lanval and Joseph, are both strong, smart, and loyal young men away from their home land. They both become favorites of their bosses, Potiphar and King Arthur, and both are shunned by their bosses because of a lie told by their bosses wives. The wives lied about the young men seducing them sexually. The men refuse the ladies because it would have meant being disloyal to their bosses and ruining their integrity. Lanval had an inner sense of right and wrong according to the Medieval code of chivalry and honor that went along with his being in King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table. Joseph had his inner sense of right and wrong from his belief in God knowledge of the Judaic laws. However, their stories differ at the end when Lanval goes to Avalon, a place away from the scandal in England, with a mysterious, beautiful woman who saves him from the consequences of the queen's lie. Joseph takes his punishment by getting thrown in prison and gets out on his faith in God.

Salvation
This work is not a feminist piece because of the portrayal of all of the women in the story. The queen, Lanval's secret lover and betrayer, is portrayed as manipulative, aware of her own beauty, and dependent on the King for her daily living. This goes against the views of a feminist, which are that women are self-sufficient, strong, and equal to a man. Women also survive by their intelligence, not just their looks. Lanval having to be saved from a woman does put that woman in a position of power but also portrays her as the "enemy."