Sir Degaré opens with a dismantling of familial order defined by paternal authority, and it strives to reestablish the traditional values of chivalric aristocracy supported by such an order. It also betrays awareness and anxiety about the inherent fr...
Sir Degaré opens with a dismantling of familial order defined by paternal authority, and it strives to reestablish the traditional values of chivalric aristocracy supported by such an order. It also betrays awareness and anxiety about the inherent fragility of patriarchal family. The King of Brittany’s undue control over his daughter introduces the text’s pervasive, incestuous undertones, forcefully mitigated by her rape at the hands of the fairy knight and the birth of Degaré. Even as the closed, circular genealogy of Degaré’s family is rectified by his efforts to reclaim his heritage and thereby restore normative family structure, Degaré himself is constantly beset by the threat that Oedipal motifs will override his journey. Female desire emerges as the chief source of paranoia, which also fuels the narrative momentum, as it is expressed in contrasting directions by the two women in Degaré’s life, his mother and his bride.