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Narcissus, Hermaphroditus, and Attis: Ovidian Lovers at the Fontaine d'Amors in Guillaume de Lorris's Roman de la rose

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 October 2020

Marta Powell Harley
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Abstract

The essay returns readers of the Roman de la rose of Guillaume de Lorris to the well of Narcissus, or the Fontaine d'Amors, and explores Guillaume's reliance on two additional Ovidian myths, those of Hermaphroditus and Attis, in his re-creation of the Narcissus setting. An examination of the evidence for Guillaume's familiarity with the two myths precedes the discussion of the contributions that the Narcissus, Hermaphroditus, and Attis myths make to Guillaume's depiction of romantic sexual love. The essay rejects the notion that Amant's fall into love represents a transcendence of Narcissus's tragedy; instead it urges that Amant himself falls into a destructive passion that has its origin in self-love.

Type
Research Article
Information
PMLA , Volume 101 , Issue 3 , May 1986 , pp. 324 - 337
Copyright
Copyright © Modern Language Association of America, 1986

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