In Chapter 14: “Betrayal” from The Romance of the Faery Melusine, we are introduced to Melusine’s true form as a mermaid and her lover, Raymondin’s reaction to his perception of this new profound information. Prior to his discovery of the truth of Melusine’s true identity as a mermaid, we find him glancing at a tapestry, one which included a faun. He initially felt feelings of angst, followed by subsequent calm when he realized he could easily kill the creature. Why did Raymondin feel peace in the thought of killing the faun within the tapestry? The faun foreshadows the eventual reveal that Melusine is a mermaid, paralleling one subhuman creature, a mermaid, with another, the faun. Therefore, by exerting control over the faun by fantasizing about its demise, Raymondin seeks to regain the control he has lost by his wife’s secrecy by killing a subhuman creature similar to his wife. This dynamic aligns with the common depictions of the relationship between men and mermaids, where men attempt to conquer mermaids, since mermaids represent agency and knowledge. 

A faun, similar to a Mermaid, is sub-human. It is half man and half goat, a creature whose connection to nature is deeper than that of Raymondin’s, as exemplified by the tapestry’s depiction of the Faun immersed in nature, “He gazed at a fine tapestry which showed birds surrounding a page, on the ground and in flight, in an orchard full of flowers in which the colours of wings and petals combined. But while he saw nothing of that, he noted in the frame, filigreed in thin golden wire, a lively faun with open legs, and on its forehead two long horns that seemed to mock him” (Pg. 119).  Raymondin couldn’t see beyond the greenery, and detailed nature depicted, but was hyperfixed on the faun and the inadequate feelings it induced within him. The horns signifying power and strength, which Raymondin doesn’t have within the dynamic with his partner. Therefore, it brought Raymondin peace in having the thought of killing the faun within the tapestry, “[…] whatever the nature of the struggle, when it came to the end, however perfect his armour, he could, if need be, kill him. This thought calmed him for a moment […]” (Pg. 119). The betrayal for Raymondin may also be in how he can’t find peace in killing her, unlike the faun. One way to regain his power where the circumstances of control with Melusine and her boundaries are out of his hands, is through the imagined killing of the faun.

It’s important to note the way the faun is posed with its open legs, yet another parallel with Melusine. The sexual pose in which the faun is displayed, embodies the same sexuality depicted as Melusine combs through her hair as Raymondin found her, “Her bent back magnificent in profile, her breasts raised, as she combed her long golden hair […]” (Pg. 125). A common symbol of self gratification for mermaids, is combing through their hair with a comb. Raymondin sees this and realizes she has agency, no real need for him, and is doing so while enjoying her time alone in a space where he isn’t welcomed, “In her other hand she held a mirror, its crystal reflecting the moonlight on her face, which despite the life that animated it as she smiled to herself, gave it an almost lifeless quality” (Pg. 125). Melusine smiled at herself and enjoyed the space she had created for herself, given that she is a “fish” out of water within Raymondin’s natural habitat, just like the faun. The Faun and Melusine are both prisoners confined to unnatural environments where they don’t belong. She is in her space while holding her mirror, a symbol of her vanity, but also the acceptance she has for her circumstances unlike her partner’s immediate reaction, who has just become aware. This revelation illuminated Melusine’s other world, knowledge that she was actively choosing to hold it from him. Raymondin realised that his involvement in her life, or what he thought he knew about her, turned out to be further from his truth.

While Raymondin went against Melusine’s wishes by not respecting her clear boundaries, he was also betrayed by his lover.  Besides the dishonesty from Melusine, the reveal of her true form was the ultimate betrayal. Not knowing Melusine’s secret drove him insane, and his selfish desire for knowledge and power transformed him, “It was as if his reason, blind to other issues, was confined to a desperate will to know, which ended almost transforming him into another being” (Pg. 120), his desperation making him reminiscent of other sub-human creatures. Raymondin’s desire to know all leads him to break Melusine’s boundary, which will inadvertently harm their marriage. Even though he went against Melusine’s request, his betrayal felt justified because at least he was fighting to save her from “the devil”, which are really his own internal demons he was trying to save himself from, as further evidenced by the text’s religious assertion that, “[…] he fought on the side of God” (Pg. 121). It seems as though Melusine was the one in power, even within the confines of her own prison, without a God to act out for other than what her own needs are.

Melusine and the faun, while completely different beings of nature, share similar circumstances. Both of them are placed within unnatural environments limiting their ability to live freely in a world made to serve man. Each of them hold power over Raymondin which leads him to become a sub-human creature just like them. Even with the differences between the sub-human creatures and Raymondin, Melusine would not be the one found in the same circumstances as her beloved husband. Transforming into a creature hungry for knowledge, and eager for power.