We finally get Enide's name when she marries Erec: "When Erec received his wife, she had to be named by her proper name, for unless a woman is called by her proper name she is not married" (de Troyes 62). This statement implies that a single woman had no need for a name, because she was not expected to do anything or accomplish anything. Without a name, it would be difficult for others to acknowledge a woman's possession or achievement: "That is Jill's cow" or "Mary planted that garden." However, in order to be married, a woman would have to be given a name, if only to determine her identity so that her husband would be able to claim her as his possession. This makes me think of the Biblical story of Jacob, who worked for his relative Laban for 7 years in order to win Laban's younger daughter Rachel as his wife. However, Laban put his older daughter Leah in Rachel's place on the day of the wedding (her face hidden by a veil so that Jacob wouldn't be aware of the deception). If those girls had been identified by their own names instead of by their father's, things would have turned out differently.
2. Enide also speaks for the first time in the text in this part of the romance. What are her first words? How do you interpret her speech? How does Erec interpret her speech? How do you explain his reaction? Why?
Enide's character emerges here as a woman concerned for her husband's status. Her first words are, "Wretch ... unhappy me! Why did I come here from my land? The earth should truly swallow me up, since the very best of knights ... [she goes on to praise him here] ... has completely abandoned all chivalry because of me. Now have I truly shamed him; I should not have wished it for anything." She seems concerned that Erec's followers are losing faith in him because he has been spending more time with her in the sack than out in the field making conquests and riding around on horses, sticking his lance into things. (One lance exchanged for another, I suppose!) I believe that her speech comes from a genuine place. After all, she is having a great honeymoon period with him (and he with her) - there would be no reason besides unselfishness to bring up other people's newly disappointed perceptions of Erec. In fact, she doesn't want to tell Erec the bad news for fear that it will "distress" him. Also, she blames herself for this flaw of Erec's. He would still be galavanting about if he weren't married.
Well, of course she is right. Erec interprets her speech as criticism and as an impetus to get out and go prove everyone wrong. To me, his train of thought goes something like this, "Those people think I'm good for nothing now, do they? Well, I'll prove them wrong! Road trip time!" Unfortunately, Erec is so caught up in loving himself and in being loved by others that he fears that losing the esteem of others means losing his place in the world as the golden boy, which is his very identity. Erec, the man who sees Enide as if looking at himself through a mirror, defines himself only by an image, by others' opinions of him - what the other knights and kings and noble ladies see. If he valued himself according to his own sense of self-worth and accomplishment, perhaps he would be able to shrug off the people's sinking opinion of him and simply revel in his happy lifestyle. As for Enide, Erec sees her as a trophy wife meant to reflect her husband's accomplishment. According to that position, Enide should fade in order to proportionally reflect the light from her husband's waning star. However, by being her usual wise self, she can't help but point criticism out to Erec, and by being her usual beautiful self, he can't help but see her as suddenly "better" than him.
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