The Interpretation of the figure of Oiseuse in the Roman de la Rose has attracted considerable critical attention in recent years. The controversy has assujned such complex proportions that it might be helpful to begin by outlining the two major points of the various arguments. 1. Oiseuse represents a figure of Luxuria.(This position, often referred to äs' neo-patristic'or'Robertsonian3, does not posit an equivalence between Oiseuse and Luxuria.)

2. Oiseuse is an ambiguous figure representing the poetic Imagination which generates the'encyclopedic'ränge of the discussion of love found in the Roman de la Rose, an approach which might be called'thematic*. Both positions presuppose, if only implicitly, that Oiseuse constitutes an important'key'for understanding the meaning of the romance. The strengths and weaknesses of both approaches need to be reviewed before one can ascertain the significance of Oiseuse on the basis of hitherto overlooked iconographic and lexical evidence. This first position has been supported by a wealth of documentation. DW Robertson, Jr. considered that the two mirrors at the beginning of the romance, that is, the mirror formed by the pool of the fountain of Narcissus and the mirror carried by Oiseuse, were related to the mirror of Luxuria. He observed that the fountain in which Narcissus saw his reflection