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rosietakesonliterature's review against another edition
3.0
Erec's character is, truly, a crime against humanity. How does one love someone and ignore them completely? Ignore their wishes, worries? Most of the novel is repetitive scenes of combat, it gets tired after a while, seeing these scenes of miscommunication and pointless fighting. If I am honest, I found the ending of the novel underwhelming. It was out of question that Erec would become king, and we already knew his favor from King Arthur was strong. There was nothing that the ending added to the story that we did not already know. It had a fairty-tale sort of feeling, with the great wedding and many delights, and a coronation, but it did not truly bring the end to the story. This is a story of a romantic conflict, of a wife whothinks she limits her husband. They pass the novel trying to overcome those limits. To me, a good ending would imply the resolution of this conflict. Whether that means Erec deciding that Enide was a help on his journey and made him a better knight, or deciding that the journey was unnecessary at all, some conclusion lacked. The piece, in general, has a sense of promise unfulfilled.
chloewiart's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
jeannepirouette's review against another edition
2.0
Le mec se demande quand même cinq minutes avant le mariage le nom de sa femme. Wsh Erec.
anciense's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
bluestjuice's review against another edition
3.0
I picked this up as a 12th-century Arthurian romance, of which there are comparatively few floating around - most of the tales we are familiar with come from Mallory or White or other, much more recent, authors. The introduction here is fascinating, especially the information about how British and Celtic tales were 'trending' in the French courts of the period, leading to a spate of literature on these characters. As to the tale itself, I thought the translation was fairly good, although I would have loved to see it published alongside the original lyrics. I always feel as if I'm missing some substantial literary devices, reading in translation. The story was fun, and mostly enjoyable, although I am not generally a fan of the 'testing the wife' element of the story. Rather too Griselda for my taste. I also could not understand at all why Enide was forever noticing these imminent dangers while Erec was blissfully unaware. Maybe his helmet destroyed all his peripheral view, haha. Anyway, glad I read it, enjoyed the cameos by Gawain, imagine that many of the other minor characters had whole backstories that the audience at the time would have been familiar with, but that are lost to us. Found it very interesting how not about Arthur it was, as a whole.
leesmyth's review
4.0
I didn't like this one quite as much as Yvain, but the narrator's comments were certainly amusing.
(Sample: They've just set up for a feast with
"At least five hundred [tables], or more.
Yet how can I dare describe
What you won't believe? Five hundred
Tables in a palace hall?
You'd think me a colossal liar.
But it's not what I said: they filled
Five rooms, not one, and packed them
So tight you could hardly move.")
There's a curious thread of naming throughout the poem - who reveals their name to whom, and under what conditions. There may be a deeper meaning in it, but I've not figured it out yet.
(Sample: They've just set up for a feast with
"At least five hundred [tables], or more.
Yet how can I dare describe
What you won't believe? Five hundred
Tables in a palace hall?
You'd think me a colossal liar.
But it's not what I said: they filled
Five rooms, not one, and packed them
So tight you could hardly move.")
There's a curious thread of naming throughout the poem - who reveals their name to whom, and under what conditions. There may be a deeper meaning in it, but I've not figured it out yet.
kmack1230's review against another edition
2.0
I am fully aware that this is considered a great work in French literature mais c'était ennuyeux et Erec était un peu terrible.
lebelinconnu's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
eb00kie's review against another edition
3.0
Erec and Enide is one of those books that can take you by surprise and enrage you, and that is one of the numerous reasons I would recommend it to somebody.
On the surface, Erec and Enide is a classical story of old.
But let's say people gossip about the guy spending too much time with his one true love and not doing his manly doings anymore. I can't imagine what a guy would think should his beloved choose to share that this gossip makes her unhappy. Maybe he thinks she wants to get rid of him, maybe that she's bored, maybe that she shares the opinion of the court - it couldn't be that the sheltered lady is thin-skinned and had her feelings hurt. Whatever took place in that oft' concussed noggin of his, the cold shoulder was EPIC.
The stories go on into their married life, already, something unusual. They spend a lot of time together, however, his friends start gossiping about his recent lack of adventures. Enide shares this with him and he is,livid unhappy. Consequently, he takes her on such an adventure, asking her to never speak with him unless spoken to first. She breaks this rule several times, the one of which ends up saving his life. He nearly ends up dying from his wounds, she nearly ends up married by force, but he wakes up in time, chops up husband No. 2 and they reconcile.
A final episode has him dueling a knight bound by his sweetheart's promise never to leave a garden unless bested in combat. Erec beats him, they all realize they know each other, then Erec and Enide are crowned.
Stories are how we pass on, imperfectly, culture and values. Even as stories like those in [b:A Game of Thrones|13496|A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)|George R.R. Martin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1436732693s/13496.jpg|1466917] satirise the knightly outlook, Erec and Enide represents transparent ideals of love, married life, the behaviours and duties of husband and wife and growing up. People might not have wholeheartedly believed in knights, but they dreamed of these valued, highlights of a more civilised world than reality could offer.
That being said, neither is perfect, and they both grow - character development is a plus.
The apparent lack of agency in women characters is expected, but ultimately deceiving. Willy-nilly, Chrétien de Troyes, has written two women who are very much in love - naturally - and will keep their loved one safe. On one hand, Enide is even willing to take her own life for love, she praises Erec up and down and would be his servant in anything he desires. So far, not unexpected. However, put in a conflict between saving him and obeying, she repeatedly disobeys him. He's not always grateful, but she's willing to lie and cheat for him. Her cousin is even more expedient, she has her lord bound by a promise not to roam until he is defeated on own his turf, which took a pretty long time - rather than let him roam and get himself killed.
Of course, this is within the confines of knightly poem logic here. In normal conditions, Erec would not have acted like a sulky teenager, knights wouldn't have waited their turn to fight him and Enide's warning him would have often proved vital - as for their travelling together unaccompanied, refer to Game of Thrones. Not to mention, that second knight is a serial head-chopper who is here welcomed back like a long lost son.
Bottom line, it delves into topics not often found in what passed for Disney 900 years ago, and it can prove interesting for those interested in Arthurian legends or women portrayed in medieval lit, or simply those yearning to get away from hard line PC. It gets three stars because it annoyed me and that made writing the review a pain in the ass.
On the surface, Erec and Enide is a classical story of old.
But let's say people gossip about the guy spending too much time with his one true love and not doing his manly doings anymore. I can't imagine what a guy would think should his beloved choose to share that this gossip makes her unhappy. Maybe he thinks she wants to get rid of him, maybe that she's bored, maybe that she shares the opinion of the court - it couldn't be that the sheltered lady is thin-skinned and had her feelings hurt. Whatever took place in that oft' concussed noggin of his, the cold shoulder was EPIC.
Spoiler
The first quarter of the story, he meets her, fights for her attentions, marries her.The stories go on into their married life, already, something unusual. They spend a lot of time together, however, his friends start gossiping about his recent lack of adventures. Enide shares this with him and he is,
A final episode has him dueling a knight bound by his sweetheart's promise never to leave a garden unless bested in combat. Erec beats him, they all realize they know each other, then Erec and Enide are crowned.
Stories are how we pass on, imperfectly, culture and values. Even as stories like those in [b:A Game of Thrones|13496|A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)|George R.R. Martin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1436732693s/13496.jpg|1466917] satirise the knightly outlook, Erec and Enide represents transparent ideals of love, married life, the behaviours and duties of husband and wife and growing up. People might not have wholeheartedly believed in knights, but they dreamed of these valued, highlights of a more civilised world than reality could offer.
That being said, neither is perfect, and they both grow - character development is a plus.
The apparent lack of agency in women characters is expected, but ultimately deceiving. Willy-nilly, Chrétien de Troyes, has written two women who are very much in love - naturally - and will keep their loved one safe. On one hand, Enide is even willing to take her own life for love, she praises Erec up and down and would be his servant in anything he desires. So far, not unexpected. However, put in a conflict between saving him and obeying, she repeatedly disobeys him. He's not always grateful, but she's willing to lie and cheat for him. Her cousin is even more expedient, she has her lord bound by a promise not to roam until he is defeated on own his turf, which took a pretty long time - rather than let him roam and get himself killed.
Of course, this is within the confines of knightly poem logic here. In normal conditions, Erec would not have acted like a sulky teenager, knights wouldn't have waited their turn to fight him and Enide's warning him would have often proved vital - as for their travelling together unaccompanied, refer to Game of Thrones. Not to mention, that second knight is a serial head-chopper who is here welcomed back like a long lost son.
Bottom line, it delves into topics not often found in what passed for Disney 900 years ago, and it can prove interesting for those interested in Arthurian legends or women portrayed in medieval lit, or simply those yearning to get away from hard line PC. It gets three stars because it annoyed me and that made writing the review a pain in the ass.
trouvaille21's review against another edition
4.0
a healthy love marriage in medieval literature?? this can't be real :0