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Lybeaus Desconus: Transformation, Adaptation, and the Monstrous-Feminine
- Arthuriana
- Scriptorium Press
- Volume 24, Number 1, Spring 2014
- pp. 66-85
- 10.1353/art.2014.0017
- Article
- Additional Information
This three-part essay addresses the monstrous-feminine in Lybeaus Desconus, a Middle English romance extant in six manuscript versions. Part 1 foregrounds variations on the fierce kiss (fier basier) that signals a change in narratives of the ‘Fair Unknown.’ Part 2 addresses Lybeaus’ status as an illegitimate son of Gawain and his reintegration into courtly society. Part 3 examines the means by which the monstrous-feminine plays a role in the transformation of a source text into two English versions in a complex process of adaptation.