Erec & Enide (Day 2)

1. The second part of the romance certainly belongs to Enide because she is in love with Erec as much as he is with her. She's fallen in love with his physical features as well as his personality; "The eyes, which channel love and send the message to the heart, renewed themselves with looking, for whatever they saw greatly pleased them. " Also, "the love between the two of them made the maiden more bold..."   Underneath a "wise and courtly and well-bred" attitude she harbors a very astute intelligence, as well as a boldness uncommon to the other women. Enide is a clever individual, especially for a woman. Women are meant to be trophies to the men; to look pretty, and that's all. However, this trait proves her atypical from most women in the Middle Ages. We first hear of her name on page 62, where it states "Enide was the name given her at baptism."

2. The reader hears Enide speak for the very first time. Her exact words are: "Wretch, unhappy me! Why did I come here from my land? The earth should truly swallow me up, since the very best of knights- the boldest and the bravest, the most loyal, the most courteous that was ever count of king- has completely abandoned all chivalry because of me. Now have I truly shamed him." (pg. 68)  I thought this was a strange thing for us to hear her say, especially since it's the very first thing we hear her say. It gave me a sense of foreboding, like the first hint that things aren't going so perfectly between them.  I'm not sure why she thinks she is shaming Erec; after all, she's perfect in practically every way. Maybe she feels guilty that Erec laid down arms because of her. But he did it because he loved her so much, and I feel that she should hurry up and realize it. She should be happy that they both have the time to spend with each other, rather than worry about his pride and what people are saying behind his back. Of course, Erec is concerned at hearing her speech. He wonders why she called him unfortunate. I think he doesn't even realize that his decision is causing his beloved such grief.