I initially became acquainted with the subject matter for my capstone thesis in the English Department during my Senior Seminar with Dr. Demarco. In this seminar, I encountered the concepts of liminality, otherness, and other themes surrounding the blurred lines of animality and humanity. One of the works we read was Le Roman de Melusine.

Le Roman de Melusine was written in the late 14th century by Jean d’Arras in order to help legitimize Jean de Berry’s claim of the fortress of Lusignan. The titular character, Melusine, is a half-human, half-fairy woman who, after entombing her father in a mountain—as revenge for his betrayal of her mother—is cursed by her mother to turn into a serpent from the waist down every Saturday. In order to break the curse, become fully human, and attain salvation, Melusine must find a husband who will agree to never look at her when she is in serpent form. She marries a nobleman, and raises him to riches with her cleverness and fairy powers. They have many sons, and it seems as if all is going well. Until her husband sneaks a look at her as she bathes one Saturday. He later denounces her. Then, she turns into a dragon and flies away. My argument focused on the themes of penitence and salvation that appear within the narrative, as well as how these themes of penitence weave into a greater narrative that serves to legitimize Jean de Berry.