Erec and Enide Pages 37-60

1. We always need to pay special attention to the beginning of a text, for here the narrator orients the reader on the journey that is to start. What information does Chrétien provide for the reader in the opening lines of this romance? Why the proverb/s (and how do we interpret this in conjunction with the story that follows)? What is Chrétien trying to do here in this prologue?

Chretien implies that much will be lost in Erec and Enide's tale. Similarly, the tangible items (people or things) or intangible things such as love and emotion, will be gone before their true value is realized. I got the impression that metaphoric blindness is going to lie ahead. Thus far, Enide is a very simple, yet well explained character. She remains silent, yet everyone accepts her without question. Will we ever get to know the real Enide? Perhaps this preface to the text suggests that Enide herself is the one that will be under-appreciated. "A man does well to make good use of his learning according to whatever understanding he has, but for he who neglects his learning may easily keep silent something that would give much pleasure."


5. What does the scene in which Queen Guenevere dresses Enide imply? What does this dress represent? What does this have to say about Enide’s character and about the way Erec views this woman?

Erec insists that Enide stay dressed in her ragged clothes for a clear purpose. He admits he would like for her to be 'properly fitted,' though more symbolically, he wants a physical change from her father's possession and lifestyle, to his own. We get this image of Enide throughout the reading, as being a gift from nature- someone who is naturally meant to be stunning. While she remains silent, the new adornments she now wears show a more outward and materialistic beauty. Perhaps she is being "corrupted" or led into this royal society, verses the simple, hard working life she is now leaving behind. The clothes are a physical symbol of the inevitable(?) or implied trouble ahead.