Analysis

The notion that appearance determines your humanity is an outdated ideology that is false as shown in the poem by Maire de France through the character Bisclavret. Instead, it is your actions that prove whether you have humanity or not. This can be seen in Bisclavret when Bisclavret begs the king for mercy and empathy to spare his life by showcasing his loyalty by not attacking the king hunting dogs (Bisclavret, pp.302, line 146-147). This is a core example of appearance not mattering for defining what humanity is as Bisclavret while in his non-human form still has human characteristics like loyalty. This is similar to my primary object which features the priest and the werewolves who also are stuck in a monstrous form but showcase human capabilities, actions and characteristics of worship to a greater god, sympathy and relationships as the werewolf couple is married and beg the priest to help the female wolf get to heaven through Christian rituals. In comparison to the woodcut which features a human cannibal who regardless of his human appearance has no humanity and is the real monster because of his actions and characteristics of murdering the innocent for his own pleasure. Marie de France emphasizes this humanity and intelligence by connecting Bisclavret and the werewolves from the Topographia Hiberniae to the prehistoric werewolves who were respected and loved for their humanity as they teach humans how to hunt. She differentiates them from the current werewolves who are deemed vicious in the 12^th century Middle Ages. In conclusion, the objects and the poem Bisclavret showcase that humanity is not determined by whether you look human but by whether you act human.