Karma Is a Marathon

In the story “Bisclavret” in The Lais of Marie de France, Bisclavret’s wife discovers that he is a werewolf and no longer wants to be with him. She victimizes him by making a deal with a knight that she knows likes her to steal Bisclavret’s clothing while he is transformed as a werewolf, so he will not be able to transform back into a human. In exchange, she offers to be with the knight. Neither she nor this other knight care about Bisclavret’s well-being. Throughout the story, it appears that no harm will be brought to either Bisclavret’s past wife or her new husband, and they will get away with the evil they commited. It is not until the end of the story when Bisclavret in his werewolf form bites off his ex-wife’s nose, she gets torched, and then she gets banished does she truly get punished. It is revealed that Bisclavret’s ex-wife and new husband have daughters who are all born without noses, “she had a number of children by him. They were quite recognizable in appearance and face: many women of that line, in truth, were born without noses” (Marie page 161 lines 309-313). The ending of this story punishes Bisclavret’s ex-wife and husband quite harshly for their crimes. Although they got away with their crimes for a long time, they eventually were punished. This story shows that everyone will pay for their crimes and wrong-doing. It may not be right away, but it will come eventually. Karma is a marathon, not a sprint.

Marie, de France. The Lais of Marie de France. Ontario: Broadview Press, 2018. Print.