In chapter 22 of “The Romance of the Faery Melusine”, Melusine leaps from a window showing how betrayal destroyed her relationship with Raymondin and she is now forced to choose between two worlds. After begging Raymondin for forgiveness and him refusing she knows she has to make a super tough decision and choose between her two worlds. The text says “Meluine looked out over the green meadows, and added in a voice so sad that everyone renewed their tears: Sweet and beautiful county, I must now leave you as well! I hope however to live until my end in loving you and admiring you, and being loved and admired by all myself …and she wept again at these last words. Farewell, farewell, each and everyone of you…Then tearing herself away, scratched and grazed by the frightful violence that she did to herself, she threw herself straight out of the window in the form of a winged serpent, about 15 feet long” (144). This specific scene shows that exact moment where love and identity collide.
In this story, the window represents so much more than just a part of a house. It represents the line between Melusine’s human life with her marriage, family and children and the supernatural world she comes from. When Melusine chooses to jump she crosses that line forever. The “green meadows” show a life of stability that she’s leaving behind while her serpent form shows the side of herself she doesn’t have to hide anymore. The window acts as a symbol of choice and once she goes through it, there’s no going back.
When Melusine decides to take the leap this brings up the power of identity. Melusine has been torn between living a normal life as a wife and hiding her true self from the people she loves. By taking the jump, Melusine accepts her true serpent self even though it means losing the life she currently has. The sadness in her words shows us that this isn’t what she wants but at the same time it’s freeing because she no longer has to live in disguise. This proves to us how acts of betrayal can sometimes be irreversible. Raymondin was unable to forgive Melusine and so she was forced to make a decision. Her choice to jump means that she is choosing herself over anything else and it’s a way to take control back over her life
Overall, I think the leap can be seen as both tragic and powerful. At this moment Melusine’s two worlds are split apart for good and everything she’s ever known has been torn away. The idea of her disappearing into the air as a serpent really sticks with me because it shows that love will never survive without trust and hiding who you truly are will always come with a cost.