Just another crack in the wall? The tale of Pyramus and Thisbe in medieval French literature

362 Pages·2000·15.05 MB·English

by  Debra Lynn Bell

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JUST ANOTHER CRACK IN THE WALL?
THE TALE OF PYRAMUS AND THISBE IN MEDIEVAL FRENCH LITERATURE
by
DEBRA LYNN BELL
B.A., Salisbury State University, 1986
M. A., The University of Georgia, 1996
A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty
of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment
of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
ATHENS, GEORGIA
2000
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©2000
Debra Lynn Bell
All Rights Reserved
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JUST ANOTHER CRACK IN THE WALL?
THE TALE OF PYRAMUS AND THISBE IN MEDIEVAL FRENCH LITERATURE
by
DEBRA LYNN BELL
Approved:
/V.J.
Major Professor
ZuSL. 3 4 , Zcrtrt)______
Date U
Approved:
Dean of the Graduate School
O im u L V . 2 0 O S_________
Date /
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to the following people who were
instrumental in the completion of this dissertation:
First and foremost, to my mother Donna Walls, who has always been supportive of my
choices and whose love and encouragement made all this possible;
To Courtney Mixon, who is the most wonderful niece in the world and whose unselfish
help as an unpaid research assistant during her stay with me in Athens made the
compilation of the final bibliography a much smoother process (LOL);
To Cynthia Mace, my very best friend, who is always there and who makes me better
than I really am or ever thought I could be;
To the rest of my family, who also offered support, encouragement, and company for my
mom on those trips to the airport;
To Pink Floyd, whose music inspired the title;
To Connie Richards, whose example as an English professor at Salisbury State
University provided early inspiration and whose gentle nudge to follow my plans
to return to graduate school began this whole arduous process;
To Billie Shaffer, who has been a devoted friend for many years and whose dedication as
an English teacher at Lake Forest High School inspired in me the desire to be an
educator,
To Tara Parrish, John Boroski, and Michael Casuccio, who provided technical support;
To Amy Ingram, who read the first chapter and gave input;
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To Dr. Mia Coco and Dr. Steven Grossvogel, who assisted me with Italian that exceeded
my meager comprehension and who introduced me to the work of Louise
Vasvari;
To Paul Rockwell, who generously offered his valuable insights concerning motif
transfer in Chretien de Troyes and who brought the twelfth-century Piramus et
Tisbe to my attention in the first place;
To Douglas Kelly, whose assistance with the translation was invaluable;
To Isabelle Buhot, who polished the modem French translation and who made numerous
phone calls to her mother in France in order to do so;
To Karin Morris, who tirelessly assisted with the filling out of forms and who helped me
find the way to spend my grant money for the things 1 needed;
To the UGA Council for the Humanities and Arts, whose financial support allowed me to
purchase texts and microfilm;
To Ellen Friedrich, whose fascination with sexual vocabulary and whose e-mail
correspondance provided me with a tremendous amount of insight;
To Karen Taylor, who generously read drafts and made suggestions, and whose
friendship has meant a great deal during this process;
To Lisa Van Zwoll, who has been a good friend and who read some of the early drafts;
To Dr. Judith Shaw and Dr. Katarina Wilson, who provided input during the earliest
stage of the process, when the dissertation topic was merely the subject of a
course paper;
To my Kalamazoo and MLA chums—Ed Ouellette, Doug Canfield, and Logan
Whalen—who have provided marvelous libations and entertainment and who will
undoubtedly be great colleagues in the future;
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vi
To Monty Laycox, whose participation in outlandish and strange discussions in our office
has contributed more to the final product than he can possibly realize and whose
friendship is very dear to me;
To Teri Hernandez, Melissa McKay, Jamie Davis, Anne Longley, Jean Ouedraogo,
Daphne McConnell, Christine Fau, and Her Excellency Faida Mitifu, who showed
me the way by setting stellar examples for me to follow, and who allowed me to
be a part of a very special group of people whose bond of friendship is incredibly
strong;
To the members of my committee—Dr. Noel Fallows, Dr. Nina Hellerstein, Dr. Doris
Kadish, and Dr. Tim Raser—whose contributions to the dissertation are largely
responsible for the final product that you see here and whose encouragement
made the task seem far less overwhelming;
To Dr. Diana Ranson, who provided me with excellent training during the preparation of
the MA.;
And to Dr. Catherine M. Jones, thesis director par excellence, whose mentoring and
guidance I will always treasure. It is impossible to adequately thank her for
everything that she has contributed to this dissertation and to my development as
a scholar. Her unfailing patience, her incredible generosity with her time and
knowledge, and her expectations of excellence are but a few of the qualities that I
have come to value during the time that I have had the privilege to work with her.
All that is good about this dissertation is the result of her superb tutelage (JUAD).
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS........................................................................................................... iv
LIST OF MAPS AND FIGURES............................................................................................... ix
CHAPTER
1 BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION.............................................................. 1
2 THE TWELFTH-CENTURY ROMANCE............................................................... 48
3 BEFORE THE ROSE................................................................................................. 126
Le Chevalier de la charrete............................................................................... 135
Le Chevalier au lion.......................................................................................... 160
Comparisons between the Charrete and Yvain................................................. 172
ErecetEnide........................................................... 173
Chretien de Troyes: Summary.......................................................................... 181
Floire et Blancheflor........................................................................................ 188
“Le lai de l’espine”.......................................................................................... 193
Aucassin et Nicolette.............................. 197
Conclusion....................................................................................................... 204
4 AFTER THE ROSE................................................................................................ 207
Le Roman de la Rose......................................................................................... 210
Le Roman de la Poire....................................................................................... 214
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