Introduction
Love is the most common and the most uncommon thing ever. The first epithet is characteristic for love, as this thing happens (or at least is supposed to happen) in everyone’s life regardless of life, whereas the word “uncommon” is natural for love as well, as it is as unique in every life as possible. Therefore, stories of Kalidasa and Chretien de Troyes are read with lightness; however the times of their creation have been covered with dust for many long years. Such lightness can be explained with the mere fact that authors touch such eternal topics, which cannot leave indifferent. What is remarkable, these two masterpieces shed the light on slightly undiscovered and even underestimated aspect of love – namely, its fancy combination, sometimes – even interdependence with duties, successes and victories, which this very essay critically examines.
This very topic is not so evident or obvious, it is rather hidden between the lines. The purpose of this essay is to discover such hidden theme – correlation between love and responsibilities. No doubt, such great works as “The Recognition of Sakuntala” and “Erec and Enide” are the giant patchworks of themes, ideas and leitmotifs, nevertheless the mentioned topic serves like binding keynote for both of them. Actually, protagonists – desperate lovers – prove their feelings with their deeds, which makes love only stronger. The charming tone of both works makes them topical in contemporary times, when there is no knights and devils, but love is to be achieved in fight as well and achieved at once – is to be a guiding star on the long way to new victories.
Main Body
The times of knights and kings belongs to history, contemporary men are not supposed to kill devils or enemies anymore in order to conquer hearts of beloved ladies, but there still exist duties and responsibilities. From the first sight, it may seem that words “love” and “responsibility/duty” are completely alien to one another, as love is associated with free flight, independent from any binding rules, whereas “duty” personifies all the earthly worries. At first, authors of considered works allegedly follow this stereotype. Both of them use all the richness of art means in order to describe the love itself – the beauty of magnificent ladies. Kalidasa writes about comely and innocent charms of Shakudala:
”The meanest vesture glows
On beauty that enchants:
The lotus lovelier shows
Amid dull water-plants;
The moon in added splendour
Shines for its spot of dark;
Yet more the maiden slender
Charms in her dress of bark” (Kalidasa 9).
Simulataneously, Troyes de Chretien does not scrimp for words of beauty for Enide as well: “The maid was charming, in sooth, for Nature had used all her skill in forming her. Nature herself had marveled more than five hundred times how upon this one occasion she had succeeded in creating such a perfect thing” (Chretien 7). Seemingly, what else, apart from such unbelievable beauty, can be truly desired? Naturally, such happiness is to be deserved in risky and complicated adventures, entangled with both physical obstacles (e.g. enemies) or psychological (doubt whether fair lady has the same tender feelings towards a man). Therefore, it is obvious that there is a need in a brave deed in order to conquer the sympathy of the lovable maiden. This is expressed in King’s words:
”She seems a flower whose fragrance none has tasted,
A gem uncut by workman's tool,
A branch no desecrating hands have wasted,
Fresh honey, beautifully cool.
No man on earth deserves to taste her beauty,
Her blameless loveliness and worth,
Unless he has fulfilled man's perfect duty--
And is there such a one on earth?” (Kalidasa 21)
Despite the fact that both works are not modern ones, they, however, have the most intriguing plot than the majority of our contemporary production. The point is that even the completing of a necessary deed, and the subsequent step – marriage (festive as in the case of Erec and Enide and secret one – for Shakuntala and King) with beloved woman is not the end of the story at all. Obviously, perspectives of lovers are beautiful:” Erec loved her with such a tender love that he cared no more for arms, nor did he go to tournaments, nor have any desire to joust; but he spent his time in cherishing his wife. He made of her his mistress and his sweetheart. He devoted all his heart and mind to fondling and kissing her, and sought no delight in other pastime” (Chretien 34). In spite of the fact that authors almost made readers believe that it is really the apogee of one’s desires, the truth is different: life consists of responsibilities and duties, and love is not the reason for avoiding them, in contrast – it is the power, which energizes a person to be in the bloom of his or her strengths.
Building on the idea that love is not an excuse for careless attitude towards one’s duties I would like to illustrate this with reference to the moment in life of happily married couple Eric and Enide: ” Now they all go about making game of you - calling you a recreant. Do you suppose it does not give me pain to hear you thus spoken of with scorn? It grieves me when I hear it said, and yet it grieves me more that they put the blame for it on me” (Chretien 35). Such plain words of Enide reveal the truth clearly: love is not only for eternal joy and amusement, it is to be sweet and tender, however, the life goes on, and it is not possible to stop winning and achieving. Otherwise, such person will inevitably lose self-esteem as well as his/her partner’s may change as well (for instance, Enide demonstrates grief and sorrow, as she feels blame for Eric’s cessation of being a hero).
Furthermore, one’s duty cannot be understood exclusively as one’s profeesional responsibilities. It is also duty of being an understanding partner, tender hand of help, useful shoulder to rely on. To further understand this statement, I would now like to illustrate it with behavior of Enide, who always makes the right choices, guiding with her duty to a loyal wife. For example, in spite of having known about Eric’s wish to not speak first during their dangerous journey, Enide took opposite steps, thinking: ”Such a coward I will not be: I will not fail to speak to him” (Chretien 39). She warned husbamd about potential threat, which saved their lives. Sweet Enide has unconsious feeling of what is wrong and what is right, never betraying her duty to be a tender wife:” Her heart was tender toward her lord, like a good and loyal lady. Her heart was neither deceitful nor false” (Chretien 47). Even when telling lies to mean Count, she performed the duty of wife, making up stories in order to distract his attention, win time and let herself and Eric happily flee.
This very couple has harmoniously combined their love and common responsibilities, which makes them a classic example of true feeling. The couple of King and Sakuntala faced obstacles in the form of responsibilities as well. For example, King was forced to leave his love in order to perform authoritative duties:
”It is my body leaves my love, not I
My body moves away, but not my mind” (Kalidasa 16).
Having protected the hermitage, where he had the chance to meet and fall in love with magnificent Sakuntala, he was enforced to perform task of mother-Queen:
”Two inconsistent duties sever
My mind with cruel shock,
As when the current of a river
Is split upon a rock” (Kalidasa 24).
Nevetheless, he manages to combine love and duty, as even leaving for settling state affairs, he leaves his beloved Sakuntala a promise and gem as token. But Sakuntala, deing too emotionally affected with dreams about King, neglected her duty and forget to greet sage, who made a horrible curse:
“Do you dare despise a guest like me?
Because your heart, by loving fancies blinded,
Has scorned a guest in pious life grown old,
Or think of you as of a story told” (Kalidasa 40).
Such neglecting made their happy union impossible, as King could not remember poor Sakuntala. In addition, she also lost the ring, which complicated the situation even worse. Perhaps such interpretation of correlation of love and duties is atypical for this poem, but personally I am convinced that such point of view deserves to exist, as however gods’ powers helped them, the risky situation was created because of neglecting (rather innocent, but still neglecting).
The above discussion raises the question of importance of the responsible love, or duty of love. These two considered masterpieces help to understand that love is as fragile as it is possible to imagine, hence the duty of each partner is to be extremely cautious and responsible in order to make their relations bloom. These two notions – love and duty – are interlaced in relationship in such a sophisticated form that they are mixed, as the duty to love is born, which is not compulsory and coercive as any other duty, but is performed willingly.
In contrast to the evidence analyzed above, an alternative perspective illustrates that love will not be true love if it closes all the other doors in life. This is perfectly illustrated with the example of last of Eric’s opponents, literally imprisoned by his lady. He said: ”Thus my lady thought to detain me here for a long stay; she did not think that there would ever enter this garden any vassal who could conquer me. In this way she intended to keep me absolutely shut up with her all the days of my life (Chretien 82). Actually, such woman did not understand the sense of love freedom, detaining him she just showed she does not allow him to prove his love by himself, to make new deeds in her honor and always happily and willingly return to her.
Conclusions
This essay is aimed to show that true love cannot be in conflict with any duty. In contrast, genuine feeling makes us to be responsible wife, husband, partner. Simultaneously, it inspires us to conquer new tops and horizons, as loving person is here, to support and to be proud.
Our times are far from times of Eric and Enide, Sakuntala and King, our duties are not duties of knights, but their examples are helpful in order to understand how perform day-to-day duties with great dignity and be a loving partner as well.
Works Cited
Kalidasa. The Recognition of Sakuntala. Translated by Arthur W. Ryder. Cambridge, Ontario: Sanscrit Series, 1999. Print.
Troyes de Chretien. Erec and Enide. Translated by W. W. Comfort. Cambridge, Ontario: Old French Series, 1999. Print.
