Run Lola Run - Video Blog

                      The movie, “Run Lola Run,” parallels the story Erec and Enide is several aspects. In the beginning of the movie Manni tells Lola that he lost the money, and that it was her fault because she was not there to pick him up.  This is much like Erec and how Enide is the “cause,” of his lost of chivalry. Then, both female characters are on a journey of restoring their men’s honor and dignity. The rest of the story revolves around the two women trying, “save,” their lovers.  The movie proceeds with three different scenarios, all in which Lola tries to get the 100,000 marks to save Manni. In two of the scenarios, one of the lovers achieve death. This is comparable to the way Enide was tested several times when the knights in the woods appeared to kill Erec. Enide was forced to decide whether or not to tell Erec about the attackers, despite his warnings of being quiet.  Eventually things between Erec and Enide simmer down, and they also achieve a, “happy,” ending.
                    The music was also a key factor in the movie. Whenever a high pressure situation was going on, such as when Lola would take off running from the apartment, fast high paced music would set the atmosphere. The same is true for when the music slows when Lola was too late to reach the market.  The notion of time was also utilized. For instance, when Lola receives the very first call from Lola, she screams so loud the clock breaks. This represents that time is lost. I say this because the clock broke, meaning time stopped. Lola ran for miles and if the problem did not resolve in a positive fashion, she would simply go back to the same spot in time she started.
                  To conclude, I would like to speak of the gender roles. In most fairy tales, the male character is the one who sweeps in and saves the damsel in distress. For both of these stories, the woman was the one who saved the day. The roles were most definitely switched, and it was interesting to see. It was odd to see a guy in a vulnerable spot, seeking to woman’s help whether it was obvious or not. Overall this movie was a good supplement to our reading because the stories were very similar and relatable.

The Knight with the Lion (pg. 353-380)

1. I feel that this romance was a bit off. I did not like the way things came full circle, or perhaps it could be called double circle.  In the beginning of the novel Yvain married Laudine out of the trickery of Lunette, just as in the end Yvain remarried Laudine out of trickery. The obvious message Chrétien is trying to get across is that when true love breaks apart, it will inevitably come back together. Before this reunion could be established, Yvain had to basically be reborn. Although Yvain went away the first year or two without heartache, he was hit by a train with an emotion soon after.  He was tearing at his eyes and ripping his clothes while running into the wild, or in simpler terms he was resorting to his inner nature. He lived naked in the woods and ate animal flesh, such as when man started out as cavemen. Next, he found the lion which represents him learning how to be a real man, courageous and brave. The final part of Yvain recycling his life is his battle between Gawain. Gawain and Yvain fight from sunrise to sundown, without knowing each other’s true identities. This shows how Yvain has progressed from an immature being, who sneaks out in the middle of the night to avenge an old mishap with Calogrenant to a mature person who stays and fights his battles with people head on. The whole journey is about how Yvain deteriorates and builds himself back up to the same level where he can accept love for what it is.

The Knight with the Lion (pg. 324-353)

1. Gawain’s speech convinces Yvain to leave home and participate in several tourneys across the lands.  Gawain feels it is imperative for Yvain to keep up his knight status alive and well. Yvain, feeling pressured to go, strikes up an agreement with Laudine. The agreement states that after a year (eight days after the feast of Saint John) Yvain must return or all of her love for him will dissipate into hatred. I find this agreement a nice compromise on Laudine’s part. Firstly, the only reason Laudine married Yvain was for the protection if the enchanted tree and spring. With Yvain being gone for a year, it allows time for people to attack. Secondly, they are freshly married and have not had a honeymoon time. The love is young and new, and they are in the stage where they want to be together all the time. The fact that Laudine proposed this agreement actually surprises me, and gives me insight into her character. If I were Yvain, I would accept this agreement in a heartbeat.

2.  Yvain’s shame is the fact that it is nearly twice the amount allotted for him to be away, and he has not returned to the woman who holds his heart. The build up employed by Chrétien is the fact that Yvain was in courts with others who had their partners but he was alone. Up until this point it is an accepted fact that the entire two years that he was gone Yvain was winning his tournaments and has not thought of Laudine despite his tearful goodbye.

3. Yvain reacts to Laudine’s messenger with great distress. He just had a revelation about the amount of time he had spent away, and the dismaying news of Laudine’s hatred of him. I think Yvain is still in love Laudine and she still possesses his heart. The news of Laudine new emotions causes a mental breakdown and forces Yvain to run into the wild like a crazy person. He is tearing at himself and does not remember the things he does. I believe the cause of this is the ring missing from Yvain’s ring which was supposed to keep him in good health, hence keep him from heartache. Now that the ring is gone he is acting much like Laudine when her lover was killed, and Yvain was mysteriously wearing the ring. The changes in Yvain show the ways love can drive a person mad. The cure was an ointment provide by a “mysterious” lady. I believe the damsel who helped him was Lunette, the one who aided Yvain earlier in the novel.

4.

The Knight with the Lion (pg. 295 - 324)

1.  While there is no official prologue, I feel like the first paragraph acts as a sort of replacement.  It allows the reader to have an idea of where the story is going. To me, the first paragraph is telling that this is a story of the anguishes and misfortunes of love. Though it is not a proverb, or as profound as the prologue of Erec and Enide, it acts in the same way just without a label. I have a feeling this is not the typical love story, and the reader may actually get to experience misfortune instead of the standard happy, or neutral ending. I feel like the author is indeed laying out the morall of the story within the first few lines but does not mantion it to see who is paying attention. It tell

2.  The very first thing that sticks out to me is that the tale is, “not of his honour but of his disgrace.”  Most stories that knights recount are their victories, however it is strange for a knight to tell the public a story of loss.

Erec and Enide (pg. 90-122)

After reflecting upon the literature as a whole, I could not help but think back to the situation in the garden with Maboagrain and his dear lady. I found great symbolism throughout this part of the novel. To begin, the setting was a garden in which, “ripe fruit all summer and all winter, and the fruit had a peculiar property that although it could be eaten therein, it could not be carried.” (pg. 107) I drew similarities from this setting to an otherwise perfect world. When girls are little, they naturally believe they are princesses and wait for their, “Prince Charming,” to come and whisk them away. However in these fantasies, girls never imagine the heart ache and troubles that they will have to go through to achieve this level of happiness.  I believe the garden is the fantasy land in which dreams and happy endings exist, or in Chrétien’s world, the stereotypical love story. Next there is Maboagrain, who would be comparable to Romeo in this love story. Maboagrain is the so-called perfect guy. To begin he is madly in love with his maiden, and the only pleasure in his life is to be by her side. What girl would say no to that? Although Maboagrain was tricked into it, he also stayed and fought for his woman for many years, which is also very much a story book occurrence. I believe Erec is meant to be Maboagrain’s opposite. Erec is supposed to portray the real man outside the perfect world. Real mean try to prove their masculinity when challenged, where as Maboagrain did it out of love. Another opposite is in the perfect world, Maboagrain’s love for his maiden flowed easily without hitch. Erec’s love for Enide was not so easy, for they had bumps in the road that involved egos, trust, and insecurities. Lastly, Erec was characterized as a jerk more or less; however Maboagrain was made to look like a gentleman. Finally, the maiden represents every man’s fantasy girl. The only role she played was being extremely beautiful and being quiet, whereas Enide represents a real woman who worries constantly, has brains, and causes most of the problems in a relationship. Overall, I think the point of this story was poke fun at the classic love story, by showing the true nature of people within its text.

Erec and Enide (pg. 60 - 90)

1. The reader finally learns who Enide is during the scene where the royalty is making preparations for the wedding. According to the text, the only reason we find out Enide's name is because Erec could not be properly married without it. This just goes to show how little women were valued back then, aside from their beauty. Plus it shows that Erec is only marrying Enide for her looks, not her personality.

2. Enide's first words spoken in the book occurs during a bedroom scene in which Erec is sleeping and she is crying in his arms. She curses herself because she feels she is the reason her husband has abandoned all chivalry. I think Enide did this because she truly felt guilty and need to let her husband to know on some level. Perhaps she was subconsciously hoping he would hear her cries. Erec interpreted the conversation in a sorrowful manner. He is in such a deep and emotional love with her, that it scared him to hear that he is not as much of a man as he was before. He reacted quite quickly by ordering Enide to get ready to go for a ride. I think he is preparing to find a huge confrontation to prove his manhood, and that he is not, "whipped." I believe he does this because his character is strongly based on ego.

3. I believe Erec is taking Enide with him on this journey to prove to her that he is still chivalistic. Erec's character is very egotistical, which is largely driving this section of the story. Enide's earlier dialogue stripped Erec of his manhood. This whole journey, for Erec, is about redemption and pride.  Erec, himself, even admits on page 69 that, "those who blame me (being Erec) are also right." He is just trying to prove himself out of despair that Enide may be falling out of love with him.

4.

Erec and Enide (pg. 37 - 60)

3. The second part of this question really had me thinking. The author describes Enide as being, “truly one who was made to be looked at, for one might gaze at her just as one gazes in a mirror.” A person generally looks in a mirror to check for, or fix, their imperfections. Usually when one sees their own imperfections in the mirror, they are so miniscule that a group of their own peers couldn’t detect them. Enide is much in the same way; she is the peer looking into the mirror. People are blinded by her, “perfection,” that they do not notice the person within. I have not heard one word pertaining to Enide that didn’t involve her good looks, or eternal wisdom. People are blinded by her, which leaves a lot of room for Enide to be sneaky or otherwise a troubling character. The only mythical character I could think of off-hand, that has to do with a mirror, is Medusa. Her ultimate demise was when a mirror was cleverly pointed at her own eyes, thus turning her to stone. Perhaps a correlation between the two could be that Enide realizes what people see when they look at her, uses it to her advantage, thus creating her own downfall. I do believe that this quote from the book is an immensely important, and even after examining it, I still question its meaning.

4. I believe the sparrow-hawk contest is a test of a person’s manhood. Erec, being a strong leader and scorned from his earlier encounter in the woods with the dwarf, challenged Yder when no one else in the kingdom would. Being quite egotistical, accepting such a fair sided battle is exciting and challenging to Erec. The contest was more of an act of redemption for him than anything else. After being whipped by a dwarf in the woods, the only way to receive his honor back and to restore his pride was to challenge this knight. However this competition not only tests a man’s strength and power, but also his ability to choose a worthy wife. The contest heavily relies on the beauty and grace of a woman. Before any fighting could occur, a woman had to lure the 6 year old sparrow-hawk off of its perch. This competition also shows the way women were viewed back then. Firstly they were prizes to men’s games, and secondly the author depicted them as weeping and praying as the men fought. Surely this ordeal would be saddening, but the author allowed the women to fade in the background versus standing up for their men, or staying strong. Overall the contest is a way for men with ego problems to boost, or prove their manhood.