What is the scenario described in your dialogue (i.e. which number is it, and who is in love with whom?)
Our dialogue was number five, “a nobleman speaks with a noblewoman.” The man seeks the love of the lady through a very courteous conversation, but she attempts to reject him, wishing to be free from “the servitude of Venus” and “Love’s snares.” She tells the man that while she will never love, she won’t prohibit a man who wishes to serve her. Her reasoning is that “after a lover has really entered into the court of Love he has no will either to do or not to do anything except what Love’s table sets before him or what may be pleasing to the other lover” (71). After comparing the binding nature of that relationship to Hell, it is evident that she feels trapped by the rules of courtly love and societal expectation that she serves or submission to her husband.
How do class dynamics play out?
The man and woman appear to be of similar economic class, yet the dialogue displays the difficult position of noble women. Despite their seeming economic equality to their male counterparts, the path a noblewoman may walk presents itself as quite limiting.
How do gender dynamics come into play?
The moralist tale this narrator tells speaks of the three gates of love. The women who either love too many men or too openly along with the women who love too few men, are scorned for they do not take their rightful place in society. As a result, they are divinely punished by the King of Love (Notably, it appears that no men are punished within this realm, bringing into question the egality between punishment for men’s improper behavior and women’s improper behavior in love). The women who submit to love are said to have more freedom than those who believe they have liberated themselves via the disobedience of society’s standards. The nobleman’s assertion that courtly love delivers the most liberty a woman might hold capitalizes on the noblewoman’s sense of being trapped in their current society. Using this feeling of restriction, they reframe courtly love as a way towards greater comfort in life, not as a form of limiting a woman’s freedom. This thus sustains these patriarchal systems while attempting to fool women into believing they have more choices within this society.
What is the ultimate outcome for the pair?
The dialogue ends with the noblewoman deciding to make an attempt at love, a stark contrast to her attitudes at the beginning of the text. Yet, when she does not state to the nobleman that she would allow him to court her, he becomes irritated. The nobleman perceives his “salvation” of the noble woman from a loveless life as an act that warrants the reward of the noblewoman’s courtship. This thus demonstrates a transactional nature in courtly love, which contrasts the nobleman’s claims that courtly love might allow the noblewoman to have greater freedom.
Is there any specific moment you want to highlight? (optional)
During the reading of the text, we noted how while the requirements a nobleman must take in love are outlined clearly—pages eighty-one and eighty-two—the requirements noblewomen must follow are shrouded in the details of the story. Though the requirements presented on pages eighty-one and eighty-two might be applicable to both genders, the aspects of how a woman should love (whether it be how much or how many times) present themselves only through story. The story may make clear in some aspects what women should not do—loving too much or too little—the lack of specificity promotes a sense of self-scrutiny in noblewomen, for they can never be truly certain whether the amount of love they give is the correct amount. This starkly contrasts the laws clearly set for men in this discourse, fo while the laws may still be unreasonable they are solid enough that a man might always know when he behaves unchivalrously, while a woman may never be completely certain.
