In the story “Legend of Melusina,“ the serpent Melusina was actually a fairy. Fairies are often very delicate, but mischievous creatures, which is revealed in the story after her revenge on her father. The act of revenge is childish, demonstrating the Fairy as young and childlike. After this act of sin, her mother curses her to become a serpent every Saturday “till she should meet a man who would marry her under the condition of never seeing her on a Saturday, and should keep his promise” (87). This concept resembles the idea that a woman’s life begins once she is domesticated, and the fairy transforming into a serpent symbolizes a girl’s transition into womanhood. The serpent is symbolic of transformation, and in this case, I think it is a metaphor for menstruation. 

France was heavily under Catholic influence in the 14th century, so the rise of patriarchal traditions would be on the rise. With this influence and lack of knowledge about women’s bodies, a woman’s body would be under surveillance, so the boundary for a request for a day of seclusion seems large. 

Once a woman begins her menstrual cycle, there are whole new expectations and pressures thrust upon them. The highest expectation of impurity, in which the act of menstruation was often seen as ‘impure’, so the anxiety to hide the action from others around them was a real societal pressure. This is enforced as no man would want an ‘impure’ wife. Though with the marriage to Raymond, Melusina is seen as the perfect domestic woman. She is the perfect mother and wife.

Her life of secrecy on Saturday was the cycle of her womanhood, a day of seclusion to be herself and allow her body to live naturally. When Melusina’s husband, Raymond, sneaks into her room to peek, he is saddened that “through his breach of faith”(88). The act of Raymond peeking to see his serpent wife was an act of sin, as he lost his purity witnessing the cycle of his wife. At the moment, Raymond did not comfort his wife from his betrayal, but chose to reveal her identity to the “courtiers” around. Meanwhile, Melusina was attempting to comfort him, but was thrown to the side after he betrayed her. Thus erasing her voice from the narrative to the people, and shaming her womanhood. 

This story demonstrates the hardships of the transformation from girlhood to womanhood. Whereas Melusina, as a fairy child, was very free, and once she became a serpent, she carried feelings of shame and expectation. Since her becoming a woman (serpent) she was told that she must find a man to live happily, and to hide the aspects of her that make her a woman. She is met with limits and restrictions, which can all be diminished by a man’s betrayal. Her world is flipped upside down once her husband betrays her and shames her in front of all. In this instance, she is now forced to flee and live an invisible life.