For week five’s reading, “The Romance of the Faery Melusine” by Gareth Knight and André Lebey, themes of betrayal and deceit disclosed something to me that I found quite profound. It is that there is a clear distinction between love and respect. Raymondin’s suspicion of Melusine leading to the fall of their unhappiness is the result of his betrayal and breach of trust. True love is rooted in mutual trust and respect for one another. While reading Raymondin’s perspective there wasn’t much respect in the first place but rather this burning desire to own and even to domesticate. “The promised happiness to which he looked forward concerned him less than she herself, whom he wanted to know more and more, and above all to possess (pg. 27)” He is utterly fascinated by Melusine’s otherworldly and alluring nature. Raymondin, who at the start was consumed by a great burden after the accidental murder of his uncle, was approached by a beautiful fae Melusine. She offered him her knowledge and guidance, saying “”I am the one who, next to God, can help you best to gain wealth and honour in this mortal life.” Raymondin takes her offer, accepting her one condition, and together they were happy.
Melusine is depicted not only as cunning, beautiful, vain, but also wise. It is not without wisdom that she could give adequate advice for Raymondin’s troubles. Yet there was an interesting focus on the hairbrush that she used at the fountain during the two’s first encounter and moments before the reveal of her mystical identity. It’s as if Raymondin chose to focus on her vanity and the surface of her beauty rather than the knowledge that she beholds. When Raymondin was stealthily approaching Melusine in her hiding place on Saturday, his anxious thoughts were comforted by “the thought of fighting for Melusine to restore her to herself, he felt elated. (pg. 121)” The idea of saving Melusine brought him happiness, but he never did consider what it meant to just trust his wife or if his wife needed any saving in the first place. This desire to domesticate, and to control is shattered when he finds out about her hybridity. It is as if there was no love in the first place and only the strong wish to control. Upon seeing a tail, he realized he wasn’t in control, thus destroying his happiness.
Some might consider this tale a tragic love story, but I see it as a story of betrayal. Melusine omits parts of her identity in order to sustain her husband’s happiness. Raymondin feels deceived and betrayed, but perhaps the biggest betrayal of all his is actions that crumbled their relationship, breaking his promise and both of their own hearts