Sean > Recent Status Updates

Finished Perceval. Definitely the best of the bunch. I think he might be autistic, and when I googled "Perceval autistic" it turns out I am not the first person to think that.

Finished Yvain. Definitely my favorite so far. Yvain is a right noble knight, worthy of the title.

Finished Job. It remains in my estimation one of the best and most profound pieces of writing the human race has produced. It surely is not possible to call oneself well-read without knowing it intimately. (And, save for a typo or two, the translation served as well for Job as for all the rest.)

Finished Lancelot. My favorite so far. I really admire his impassiveness at getting on the cart, and his silence in the face of criticism for it. he seems not even to take notice of his critics. His willingness to obey his lady love is impressive--I do not like Guenevire at all, since she does not deserve to be liked. Chrétien's writing, or the translation, is different here; it has more immediacy and humanity to it.

Finished Cligés. I certainly like him much better than I did Erec. Chrtien continues to be a good storyteller, and I continue to be amazed that I waited so long to read these stories.

I have finished "Erec and Enide," the first of the five books contained herein. I have never read Chrtien before and am delighted with him. I enjoyed the book very much. Sadly, I do not like Erec the knight near so much as I like the story about him. That stunt he pulls with leaving court and dragging his wife along to (it seems) punish her for stating fact while he was presumed asleep is a thing fit for a child-man.

[The Queen] was so high above herself [with happiness] that you could have used her for hawking.

Quite exciting.

What I love about this translation is how it disappears. I am not aware that I am reading a translation, which is not true with many other versions. The language is not particularly beautiful, and it is certainly not ugly. It simply disappears, leaving me with the story.

So far he is saying what I already know and understand, but that is a good thing.

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