Literary Monster

Many medieval artifacts portray werewolves as these monsters with great teeth who rip the people of the village into shreds, as shown in my chosen artifact. Part-man, part-beast, the dual nature of the werewolf epi- tomizes the dilemma of humankind which must battle the forces of good and evil within. Often the creature is depicted in an ambiguous way: an unwilling victim of some evil or sorcery who through no fault of his own turns into a beast. Part-man, part-beast, the dual nature of the werewolf epitomizes the dilemma of humankind which must battle the forces of good and evil within. Often the creature is depicted in an ambiguous way: an unwilling victim of some evil or sorcery who through no fault of his own turns into a beast. (Benkov 1988) However, Bisclavret shows the complete opposite with his humanness and personality. The typical werewolf that is described is not what Marie de France depicted in Bisclavret. I chose this medieval artifact to show that though werewolves are stereotypcially seen as this evil, Bisclavret was a gentle, loving, and loyal being to those who showed the same respect to him. Rather, through a series of ironie thematic twists, Bisclavret is not only changed into an ill-treated and betrayed husband, but into a sympathetic character whose "beastliness" will bath serve justice and restore a certain order, albeit one which is different from that at the outset of the tale. (Benkov 1988)

Comparing Bisclavret to another monster that we studied in this course, he is a completely different character from Grendel from Beowulf. Grendel is a very aggressive, hateful, and evil monster who only wanted negativity and destruction. There was like a dark cloud that surrounded him, whereas Bisclavret seemed like a light to the people and his society. Though he turned into a werewolf that many would perceive as evil and dangerous 3 days a week, he still cared for the people he loved, and only showed loyalty throughout the whole story.