| The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the animal representation in six lais from the first French female writer, Marie de France. These short stories are featured in the medieval text Les Lais de Marie de France. I examine her interest in animals, how they are instructive to her characters, and their dominant role in her texts. My thesis includes the following lais: Bisclavret and Yonec, considered for their shape-shifting; Guigemar and Milon for their messengers; and Rossingnol and Eliduc for their symbolic function. I argue that the true function of Marie de France's animals is personal in that her fondness for nature and animals reveals to us her beliefs and additionally the important messages we can learn from the natural world. These didactic stories meant something to medieval readers who could relate to animal representation. |
