Introduction
Literature is one of the most beautiful kinds of art. It expresses the highest feelings that people experience in their lives. Accordingly, love is one of the most popular topics for authors of all countries and epochs. This very paper will analyze such a literary genre as courtly romance story in all its aspects. Thus, the paper is going to consider one of the most notable stories of this genre, “Tristan and Iseult”, and than concentrate on the discussion of “Joseph Andrews” by Henry Fielding.
Courtly Romance and Tristan Story
To begin with, it is necessary to consider the development of courtly romance style. Thus, it appeared in Europe during the Middle Ages. To be more exact, it happened in the 11th and 12th centuries. At that period, the European understanding of beauty in all its forms changed from the aggressive to a tolerant one. What is also very important is that the attitude of authors and their characters towards women in their works and in real life changed for the better. Thus, after the early Middle Ages when a woman was scorned and considered to be nothing more but a housewife, the 11th century turned the woman into the embodiment of the Goddess for whom all the knights and ordinary men bowed down (Bedier, 2005).
One of the brightest examples of the courtly romance literature of the earliest period of its existence is a French lyrical poem “Tristan and Iseult”. Its author is unknown to the historians of literature but all the critics recognize this person’s talent. The plot of the work describes the love story of two young people who could not be together because of the differences in their social positions. Traditions were rather important in their society, and the love story of the young people ended with their deaths. To emphasize all the beauty of this work of art, the author used such a strong device as allegory – after the deaths of Tristan and Iseult, two trees grew on their graves with branches intertwined so much that no one ever could separate them with hands or axes (Bedier, 2005).
Joseph Andrews
Accordingly, following the traditions of the old masterpieces of courtly romance, the authors of the 17th and 18th centuries created their works reflecting the same very important topics – love and death, the struggle between men and women for superiority in the society on the whole and in every single family in particular. However, long before the emergence of the Women Rights Movement, Feminism, and Women Suffrage, the authors of this epoch filled their works with overall respect and admiration of women: “This young creature (who now lived with a farmer in the parish) had been always beloved by Joseph, and returned his affection.” (Fielding, Ch. 11). Henry Fielding was one of the masters of courtly romance prose in England. His best known work is “Joseph Andrews” in which the above mentioned topics are skillfully disclosed.
For example, Chapter 2 describes the love that Joey had towards his lady: “Joey was now preferred from the stable to attend on his lady, to go on her errands, stand behind her chair, wait at her tea-table, and carry her prayer-book to church;” (Fielding, Ch. 2) Thus, the lines quoted explain the relations between men and women in the described epoch, i. e. the 18th century. At that time men did everything to express their affection towards women, and understanding of the weaknesses of the latter was considered to be one of good manners.
Moreover, women were also affected by this trend in the society. Their behavior was modest and full of respect to men. Accordingly, they relied upon men as their defenders, picturing them as knights coming from the 11th century legends and epic poems: “His lady, who had often said of him that Joey was the handsomest and gentlest footman in the kingdom…began now to find that fault no longer;…She would now walk out with him into Hyde Park in a morning, and when tired, which happened almost every minute, would lean on his arm, and converse with him in great familiarity. Whenever she stepped out of her coach, she would take him by the hand, and sometimes, for fear of stumbling, press it very hard; she admitted him to deliver messages at her bedside in a morning, leered at him at table, and indulged him in all those innocent freedoms which women of figure may permit without the least sully of their virtue” (Fielding, Ch. 4).
Conclusions
To conclude, the style of courtly romance story is a rather old literary genre which has admiration and respect to the woman as one of its most important features. In the period of its birth, i. e. 11th century, this style described bravery of knights who were ready for whatever for their ladies. In the 18th century, the characters were changed into ordinary people but the main subject remained the same – love is the feeling making people admire their beloved ones and put the world to their feet.
Works Cited
J. Bedier (Adapter), Hilaire Belloc (Translator). The Romance of Tristan and Iseult. Dover Publications, 2005.
Fielding, Henry. “Joseph Andrews.” Fiction. 2008. Bibliomania. Web.