Table Of ContentTHE NEW MIDDLE AGES
Narcissism and
Selfhood in
Medieval French
Literature
Wounds of Desire
Nicholas Ealy
The New Middle Ages
Series Editor
Bonnie Wheeler
English and Medieval Studies
Southern Methodist University
Dallas, TX, USA
The New Middle Ages is a series dedicated to pluridisciplinary studies of
medieval cultures, with particular emphasis on recuperating women’s
history and on feminist and gender analyses. This peer-reviewed series
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Nicholas Ealy
Narcissism and
Selfhood in Medieval
French Literature
Wounds of Desire
Nicholas Ealy
University of Hartford
West Hartford, CT, USA
The New Middle Ages
ISBN 978-3-030-27915-8 ISBN 978-3-030-27916-5 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27916-5
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A
cknowledgments
The seeds of this project were planted in a graduate seminar I took at
Emory University with Claire Nouvet. It is here I was introduced to the
myth of Narcissus, a tale whose complexity has not ceased fascinating and
challenging me. I will always be grateful to Claire, whose instruction
pushed me to question and explore the endless puzzles this myth and its
legacy pose regarding the human condition. Special thanks also go to Lori
Walters, whose graduate seminars at Florida State University cultivated my
love for medieval literature. It is with her I first read some of the texts that
shape the argument for this book. I must also thank those teachers of mine
who served as mentors, for their instruction continues to influence my
teaching and scholarship: Cathy Caruth, William Cloonan, Jean Dangler,
Raymond Fleming, Michael Gerli, Jean Graham-Jones, Mark Jordan,
Dalia Judovitz, and Elissa Marder. Jennifer Heneghan-Paquette and Iliana
Mankin, both of whom are unfortunately no longer with us, deserve rec-
ognition for instilling within me a lifelong passion for languages.
While writing this book, many friends lent their support along the
way. Primary thanks go to Karen Tejada-Peña and Sarah Senk, my two
academic spouses, who read and commented upon parts of this manu-
script while letting me talk through my ideas in countless conversations.
I am also grateful to Aimee Pozorski for her comments on drafts of the
last two chapters and to Stéphanie Boulard and Jenny Davis Barnett for
their help with some of the translations contained herein. Additionally,
I hold dear those friends who have lent their support at various times
throughout this project: Geillan Aly, Jeff Blanchette, Lauren Cook, Deidra
Donmoyer, Cyril Ghosh, Cécile Guillaume-Pey, Kasturi Gupta, Carmen
v
vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Hernández- Ojeda, Erica Hughes, Lillian Kamal, Robert Lang, Kate
McGrath, Kenny Nienhusser, Zee Onuf, T Stores, Elizabeth Trelenberg,
Charles Twombly, and Paul Watt. I also must recognize my friend Juanita
Garciagodoy, taken from this world too soon—her words of advice and
encouragement live on within me, continuing to direct me in my scholarly
endeavors.
I thank my students at the University of Hartford, Wesleyan College,
and Emory University, from whom I have learned so much through many
discussions. I thank my colleagues in the Department of English and
Modern Languages at the University of Hartford for creating such a
friendly work environment and for the opportunity to teach the English
Capstone on “Love and Illness” in 2017, where I was able to discuss with
those students many of the issues raised in this book. I thank the University
of Hartford, which granted me a sabbatical in Spring 2015, during which
some of this project was completed.
I am grateful to the editorial staff at Palgrave for supporting this project
from the start and to my anonymous reviewer there, thanks to whom this
is now a stronger book. Parts of Chap. 4 have appeared in Fifteenth-
Century Studies as my article “The Poet at the Mirror: René d’Anjou and
Authorial Doubling in the Livre du Cœur d’Amour épris.” I thank Camden
House for the permission to use it here. I also thank the Bibliothèque
nationale de France and the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek for per-
mission to use images from their collections.
I thank my siblings, through biology and marriage, Taisia, Bill, Gregory,
and Miho, for their encouragement, as well as my four beautiful nieces,
Hannah, Emma, Nino, and Mila, who have brought endless joy to my life.
Finally, I cannot express enough love and gratitude to my parents, John
and Barbara, for their constant support and for always giving me a place to
call home. I dedicate this book to you.
c
ontents
Part I Narcissism and Selfhood in Context 1
1 Introduction: Narcissus and the Wounded Self 3
2 Narcissus and Selfhood: The Lay of Narcissus 25
Part II Selfhood and the Open Wound 57
3 Narcissus and Mourning: Alain de Lille’s Plaint of Nature 59
4 Narcissus and Melancholy: René d’Anjou’s Book of the
Love-Smitten Heart 103
Part III The Wounded Self as Witness 131
5 Narcissus and Trauma: Chrétien de Troyes’s Story
of the Grail 133
vii
viii CONTENTS
6 Narcissus and Testimony: Guillaume de Machaut’s
Fountain of Love 181
7 Epilogue: Between Je me plaing and Iste ego sum 225
Index 233
l f
ist of igures
Fig. 4.1 Love delivers René’s heart to Desire. Codex Vindobonensis
2597, folio 2. Vienna: Österreischische Nationalbibliothek 108
Fig. 4.2 Heart at the Fountain of Fortune. Codex Vindobonensis 2597,
folio 15. Vienna: Österreischische Nationalbibliothek 120
Fig. 4.3 Heart at the Diamond Mirror. Ms. fr. 24399, folio 103. Paris:
Bibliothèque nationale de France 123
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