Le Fresne: Marie de France

Le Fresne was one of my favorite poems to read. There are so many mixed emotions throughout. One thing that I found interesting is how ironic the poem was. Marie really plays with the common characteristic of nobility found in many medieval romance writings. During this era, nobility refered to an aristocrat, one who has good genes and one who is virtuous. However, Marie really pulls out the irony of the common noble theme several times throughout the poem. For example, the spiteful mother is not virtuous at all despite her aristocratic standing. She quickly becomes selfish and gets rid of her child to save her reputation. What Marie considers noble in Le Fresne is Le Fresne herself. Although she does not know what her true identity is, she acts nobally, being loved by everyone who meets her and is always selfless. What is ironic here is that Le Fresne is obiviously noble by birth and she learned to be selfless through her lower class upbringing. Once again, Marie de France is putting a more realistic spin on classic medieval characteristics. I really enjoyed reading this work by Marie because unlike some of her other works, this one ends up having a happy ending.