In the chapter titled “The Great Old Hunter” from The Romance of the Faery Melusine, André Lebey creates a symbiotic relationship between humans and nature when describing nature as being “menacing and dangerous” because it is “full of the unknown” (Lebey 11). The dangerous quality of nature then formulates the need for heroes to protect the townsmen who are “huddled for comfort against their wives” as the dangerous creatures lurking in nature infiltrate the nearby village (Lebey 11). By intertwining nature and humanity, the text critiques the idea humans are separated from nature since the heroic persona and human virtue is built in the context of an environment that forces it to overcome threats and danger.

From the start of the chapter, Lebey begins to build the relationship between humans and nature when revealing that “They lived close to nature in those days, even in towns,” since the “Fields came right up to the walls and the forest was close by” (11). Right at the beginning of the story, nature is already becoming an integral part of the narrative through its close proximity to what is deemed as civilization. In this section, nature is not a faraway entity, but is a being that is interwoven into life within the village by explicitly stating that people “lived close to nature” and that it “came right up to the walls” of the town. It is not something that the villagers can easily ignore since the town is on the threshold of the forest. Whether it is for good or bad, the villagers develop in conjunction with the forest’s inhabitants because of their proximity. Here, the reader can see that every action of the townspeople or forest beings ends up directly impacting the livelihood of one another. Nature is then characterized as a neighbor to the town, as they exist alongside each other. Through this weaving of humans and the environment around them, Lebey is then able to create the perfect surroundings for someone like Count Aimery to exist. As a result of living so close to nature, Count Aimery is able to naturally become a hunter because he has direct access to nature on a daily basis. Count Aimery can then evolve and go on hunts due to the setting that Lebey places the town in, where humans live in a space woven with nature. One can then see how his life is shaped by his entanglement with nature since it gives him the basis to foster his skills to become “a great hunter” (Lebey 11). This forces the reader to take into consideration how nature influences the actions of those in that specific environment. Constructing the forest “close by,” the town transforms into a way for Lebey to showcase how influential nature can be in one’s life. It is not merely a place; rather, it is a force that can ultimately create the structure of a human life.

Knowing that the forest is nearby the village, Lebey then positions the forest and all those who inhabit it as “[…] menacing and dangerous, full of the unknown, concealing the surprising and the supernatural” (11). Before he even truly begins the story of the hunter, the forest is specifically defined as a place where evil lurks. By using words such as “menacing” and “dangerous” to convey the characteristics of this environment, it becomes something for the townsmen to fear and creates a sense of tension within the village since they live adjacent to the forest. Nature is not characterized as a passive being that simply exists, and instead is given a role as a perilous environment that is able to harbor these “unknown” and “supernatural” beings. The employment of the term “supernatural” also becomes vital since it creates the notion that not only is the village under threat, but it is under increased threat because the forest is essentially beyond the realm of this world. The reader then knows to be wary of this environment because it is being presented as an entity that can cause damage to the village and those who live there, since the actions of nature have an effect on those who live by its borders. Through the utilization of a hostile tone when describing the forest and the individuals that occupy it, the author leaves no doubt that nature is an evil force within the village because of the conflict it has created for them. In turn, when Lebey notes in the subsequent lines that “All along the bushes by the pathways the eyes of the lynxes burned, watching the old women, bowed under kindling” (Lebey 11), he continues to reinforce this threat of unearthly creatures on the community. Rather than the lynxes watching the old women, Lebey explains that their eyes were “burning” to evoke a sense of mysticism since it feels as if they have a fire behind their eyes that is not normally present within these creatures. The reader is now able to recognise the danger the villagers are in, knowing that these may not be normal creatures since the “burning” eyes of the lynxes are a mark of their “supernatural” qualities. Nature then transforms into the villain in the narrative by being an ever-present danger and frightening those who are merely trying to live their lives in town. It looms over the town as the townspeople are being watched by the “burning” eyes of creatures who call the forest their home.

Within the essay, “The Trouble with Wilderness: Or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature,” author and historian William Cronon reveals the danger in thinking that humans are detached from nature. In particular, Cronon describes how it “embodies a dualistic vision in which the human is entirely outside the natural,” which then “[reproduces] the dualism that sets humanity and nature at opposite poles” (17). Cronon is directly mirroring what can be seen in Lebey’s narrative as they both seek to combine humans and the environment around them. Rather than seeing nature as something that is removed from civilization, both Cronon and Lebey  “embody” a line of thinking that places nature as something that is part of everyday life. Even early literature, such as the Bible, often depicts the wilderness as a grand fantasy where one must venture away from civilization and towns to be truly in nature. The environment then becomes this awe-inspiring entity that is devoid of any perceived human elements or interaction. In turn, it may create this detached feeling from this form of nature because it is outside the scope of what is deemed as civilized, since it is viewed as being formulated by “nature” itself. However, Cronon notes that this idealistic view of nature “gets us into trouble only if we imagine that this experience of wonder and otherness is limited to the remote corners of the planet” (24), illustrating how we do not need to actively seek out nature since nature can be as simple as a tree in a backyard or a flower in a garden. Subsequently, the separation between nature and humans is blurred when we realize that the wilderness is all around civilization. Applying this thinking to The Romance of Faery Melusine, one can then see that Lebey moves away from “dualistic thinking” about nature and humans by highlighting how close the villagers live to nature. The forest is not simply a backdrop for the story, but plays a pivotal role in the lives of the people living in the town. The constant danger nature presents because of its close proximity to civilization forces humans to interact with nature as they try to fend off any lurking danger. Instead of positioning nature as a distant entity, Lebey brings it to the forefront through its influence on the villagers’ daily life. Here, one can see how Lebey showcases the “wonder and otherness” of nature at the village’s doorstep as the forest’s creatures dangerously seep into the town. The close proximity of the forest to the village then heightens the intertwining of humans and nature that is depicted in Cronon’s essay, since these two entities are forced to interact within their daily lives. Thus, both texts serve to erase the boundaries between humans and the environment by illuminating how much these two entities interact with each other.

Towards the end of the passage, Lebey then explains that because of the evil nature of the forest, it is a chance to showcase heroic virtues since “[…] evil reigned only if heroes failed to confront its dangers. It seemed that one existed to give rise to the other, for humans do not show their mettle if left to themselves” (Lebey 12). Through these lines, Lebey takes on a more optimistic view of the forest by claiming that it was created to “give rise” to heroes as a way to protect the community and dominate over evil. He is then cementing the intertwining relationship between humans and the natural world through the idea that they cannot exist on their own. This highlights the idea that human heroics depend on the presence of evil because it forces them to play the role of the hero in order to protect the town and the “townsmen huddled for comfort against their wives” (Lebey 11). The fear of the creatures from the forest drives people from the village to step up and defend the villagers from these otherworldly beings. The reader then understands that having nature as a threatening force is not an inherently bad thing because it is a critical force in building human character. Without the dangers that the forest presents, there might not be an opportunity for humans to display their superiority since nature gives them something to fight against due to its evil characteristics. If everything is always safe, then there would be no need for heroes to protect people or showcase their might. In turn, Lebey essentially points out that it is a good thing that the villagers live so close to danger because they are able to showcase their “mettle” that would otherwise be hidden away. Despite the turmoil and anxiety that the forest brings to the village, it is this exact evil that allows for humans to embody the persona of a hero and showcase their excellence that would not present “if left to themselves.”

In the section “The Emergence of Environmental Humanities” from The Environmental Humanities: A Critical Introduction, Robert S. Emmett and David E. Nye highlight this very thinking when explaining how “a disconnected and isolated ‘thing’ or object does not and cannot exist. Rather, every object and being is defined by its relationships,” meaning that “It is part of networks and only has meaning in relation to its surroundings” (9). In essence, this dismantles the idea of a dichotomy between humans and nature by positing the notion that an entity does not exist alone as an “isolated thing,” but in tandem with its surroundings, since it only exists within the context around it. When using this perspective to look at the forest and village presented in Lebey’s story, it becomes impossible to see these two entities as separate from one another, since they do not exist as solitary individuals. Every action that these “supernatural” beings from the forest take directly impacts the lives of those living in the village. Lebey’s depiction of the forest as a threat is then dependent on its ability to destabilize the lives of the people living in the town bordering the forest. As a result, the forest is defined as “dangerous” because of its close proximity to the village. Much like Lebey, Emmett and Nye situate nature as a place where human personas can be formed and harbored since “Human beings are not independent of the natural world, but are part of it” (9), making them “an active part of nature” (8). It is through their relationship with the forest that allows humans to rise as “heroes” because of the direct threat that the forest and its creatures present to the townspeople. Therefore, Emmett and Nye help further cement the belief that someone like Count Aimery is not necessarily born a hero, but is molded to be a hero because of the circumstances that force him to rise up and defend the town from the beings that lurk around the borders and spill into the town.

The weaving of humans and nature throughout this chapter of The Romance of the Faery Melusine then serves to move away from the idea that they can exist separately, since the heroic identity is founded within the connection between humans and the environment around them. As opposed to thinking that humans form their identities in isolation without any exterior forces, Lebey asks readers to rethink this notion by formulating the idea that it is through this “menacing” and “dangerous” environment that Count Aimery and others are able to reveal their greatness by hunting these dangerous creatures. The same forest that is home to all things “unknown” and “supernatural” can also be the place where virtue and nobility is born. Subsequently, humans may not know the extent of their superiority without the presence of danger threatening their livelihood. The forest becomes integral to humans because through these experiences with evil and danger, it gives them the space to prove their worthiness.

Works Cited

Cronon, William. “The Trouble with Wilderness: Or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature.” Environmental History, vol. 1, no. 1, 1996, pp. 7–28.

Emmett, Robert S., and David E. Nye. “The Emergence of Environmental Humanities.” The Environmental Humanities: A Critical Introduction. MIT Press, 2017, pp. 1-21.

Lebey, André. “The Great Old Hunter.” The Romance of the Faery Melusine. Translated by Gareth Knight, Skylight, 2011, pp 11-22.