The Story of the Grail written originally in French by de Troyes is a story of heroism, adventure, social destitution (for instance, famine and cruelty to women), religion, and love. These themes recur in all the chapters of the poetic narrative, in the incidents encountered by its hero, Perceval. In the story, the author projects the heroic deeds of the major character and depicts the social problems that may be eminent in the society during the twelfth century when it was written.
The story opens with birth of Perceval at a time of harvest when trees were “in bloom” (line 1). Born to a widow, the boy left his mother’s land and lived with some farmers where he learned to work in the farm—tilling the soil, growing trees, and raising herds. When he was strong enough, he escaped the farm and faced adversities in search of the Holy Grail, which his mother described to him. In this search, we see the man’s ability to survive and face battles he never knew as a child.
In the first part, we see the innocent young hero meet with some knights. Their gaze fascinated and overthrew him that “he threw himself to the ground” (l.158) and started reciting prayers he learned as a boy. From this scene, we can see the big discrepancy the author wants to project between the knights—who also represented the learned, the French and the bold, and the innocent Welsh boy, Perceval. When the boy saw the knights, he wished to be a knight too, which could mean leaving his old habits, his country, and his beliefs for the sake of his ambition. He told his mother that he saw beautiful angels to avoid being questioned further. This too, suggests the start of his awakening and the making of a hero.
Perceval’s fascination with knighthood—and probably the power and grandeur attached to it—led him to beg his mother’s approval to go to the king. The mother refused at first, but also fascinated by the story of the Holy Grail, gave her blessings to her son. In this part, we see the mother’s eloquence in the teachings of religion. As she told Perceval of the Holy Grail, she expressed passion in Jesus, which altogether imparts the author’s fluency in matters of religion.
On his way to the king’s castle, we see a different aspect of Perceval as he approached a tent. He encountered the young maiden and fascinated again with her beauty, forced to give her a kiss and take her ring. This shows the hero’s ignorance of the law, and matters of the world, especially that of matrimony, as he did not know his father. Since the woman was married, the husband who arrived shortly after felt so mad at Perceval for what he did. The husband vowed to search for Perceval and take off his head.
The story continued with Perceval asking for the king’s acceptance to be a knight. Challenged by the king’s companion, Perceval went after the red knight and killed him with a javelin. This was the start of Perceval’s valiance. His battles with enemies including Clamadeu, Sagremor, and the Haughty Knight made him known by King Arthur. The young lad fought without fear and hesitation.
Although bravery describes Perceval as a knight, the author also used too much adventure in the narrative. For instance, during his travel to the king’s castle, Perceval seemed to find the things he needed, even wine, food, companion, etc. on his way, as if offered to him by the gods. This even includes the showing of his long lost cousin whom he did not recognize, and who told him that his mother was dead. Though being favored by the gods is one characteristic of a Western hero, we may find fallacy in the elements, for they showed like “deus ex machine” or god out or the machine. These elements, and the skill of the once innocent farmer, imply fantasy throughout the story.
Despite the bravery he showed, Perceval kept a soft spot in his heart for his mother. This gives the theme of love for one’s mother. Again, de Troyes seems to present a juxtaposition here in that the mother is given high regard by the brave knight, she is treated as a woman on a pedestal, while other women in the story were abused and treated as sexual symbols. In the story, when Perceval searched for his mother, he encountered women who wept and suffered, including the girl he kissed. This shows the pitiful situation of women in the society. While they kept loyalty to their men, the women were not treated with respect, and were made to suffer physically and emotionally. This could reflect the unjust treatment to women of the society during the time the story was written.
Moreover, looking at the story on the feminist’s side, we may say that the author had a biased view of women for he depicted them as damsels in distress—being widows, ignorant, and unchaste. Although some were loved like Blancheflor, they were abandoned by their knights and killed.
Another theme depicted in the story is friendship. The friendship between Perceval and Gawain describe more vividly the personalities of the knights. However, the sudden shift of the story from Perceval to Gawain somehow results in a peculiar transition. On the one hand, the story of Gawain in the end makes the story lose its focus on Perceval. On the other, it adds to the flavor of the story by introducing and linking other characters with Gawain.
The issue of religion is also depicted in the story. We see Perceval’s high regard for religion as taught to him by his mother. In the first part, he almost wanted to forget his faith, but frightened by the knights, he sought God for help and asked for forgiveness. When he learned about the death of his mother, Perceval felt some void in him, and he went to fast for days as his penance. Again another juxtaposition is revealed, in that despite the character’s determination to kill, he also showed undying faith in God.
As mentioned, the other half of the story concentrates on the adventures of Gawain. Unlike Perceval, Gawain came from a family of knights, being the king’s nephew. He shared Perceval’s adventures and met also with different women. However, unlike Perceval, Gawain’s story is focused on finding his roots or identity. He lived to make the queen, his mother recognize him, but until the end of the de Troyes’s story, this did not happen. He also wished to make Arthur recognize him as the latter’s niece. Being a man of nobility, Gawain’s story ironically ends up with simplicity which he found in his lover, the haughty woman.
De Troyes’s The Story of the Grail offers its readers a mixture of everything. With the themes of courage, love, religion, suffering, and friendship, it likewise presents the author’s inclination to present paradoxes. For instance, side by side with Gawain’s nobility, we see his fate turning out to be simple at the end, and then with Perceval’s anguish, we see love for his mother. Also, side by side with adventure and friendship are themes of suffering and rivalry.
