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The Mirrored Return of Desire: Courtly Love Explored Through Lacan's Mirror Stage

Eikost, Emily Renee

Abstract Details

2022, Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, English/Literature.
Images have always played an integral role in the formation of identity throughout courtly love literature. This can be seen through the first look between the servant and his Lady as it becomes the foundation for their mutual identities both in relation to one another and apart. They become centered around only truly knowing the self once they have known one another. This initial moment of recognition, following the path of the Hegelian master-slave dialectic, is the moment when self-consciousness is formed by a confrontation with the other (Hegel 541-547). The first look is a pivotal moment that sets the stage for the way the subject perceives the world as he now views himself as merely a part with the image reflected back being the promised ‘whole’ he has come to anticipate. When this becomes the central driving force behind the servant’s motivations, it becomes a phenomenon that must be examined to better understand the characters and the possible implications of their actions. This thesis investigates the role that identity formation plays within courtly love literature using Jacques Lacan’s mirror stage theory and a new framework designed to assist in literary criticism. I engage W. J. T. Mitchell and Michael Camille’s debate surrounding images, objects, and desire as a foundation for my examination. The primary texts that I engage are Dante Alighieri’s Vita Nuova and Commedia as well as the unknown poet’s “Sir Orfeo.” For Dante, I examine his desire for the identity of the servant and his missteps in attempting to reach this goal. In my analysis of “Sir Orfeo,” I shift the focus to an examination of mourning within identity formation, with an emphasis on Sir Orfeo’s grief over the loss of Heurodis. Through this engagement, I suggest that the first look between the servant and the Lady is pivotal to the servant’s retroactive and anticipated identity.
Erin Labbie (Advisor)
James Pfundstein (Committee Member)
146 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Eikost, E. R. (2022). The Mirrored Return of Desire: Courtly Love Explored Through Lacan's Mirror Stage [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1647445748953647

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Eikost, Emily. The Mirrored Return of Desire: Courtly Love Explored Through Lacan's Mirror Stage. 2022. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1647445748953647.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Eikost, Emily. "The Mirrored Return of Desire: Courtly Love Explored Through Lacan's Mirror Stage." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2022. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1647445748953647

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)