SUMMERS, KAREN CRADY, Ph.D. Reading Incest - The University ...

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story of incest implied, averted. King Alphonse, who fancied himself the wisest man in
the land, had the habit of posing riddles to his men, which they could never answer.
However, one day his man Petro knew the answer to a riddle, responding at once. The
king grew envious and thought he would match wits with the knight. He issued a
challenge: if Petro could not answer the tripartite riddle within three weeks, then he
would lose his head. Petro realizes he can not answer the questions. 10
Lamenting, he
retreats into his garden. His daughter Petronelle comes to him alone and pleads to know
the source of his unhappiness. But her language is like that of a lover:
For I have ofte herd you seid
That ye such trust have on me leid
That to my soster ne my brother,
In al this world ne to non other
ye dorste tell a private
So wel, my fader, as to me (I. 3153-8)
Donavin notes the setting in the garden, reminiscent of how Amor in the Roman de la
Rose sought the Rose privately in her garden, and of Eden, in which Adam and Eve were
enclosed in their own private space, intimate and exclusive (54). And as we have seen,
the Bible itself relates the story of Lot and his daughters. Furthermore, Petronelle’s
entrance into the garden is prefigured with a description of her unsurpassing beauty and
10 The questions are: 1) What in this world least needs the work of men, yet men still work on it most of
all? 2) What has the highest worth, but has the lowest price? 3) What is of highest cost yet is perceived as
valueless and thrown away? (3100-3108). The answers are a) The earth, because even though man
cultivates it, the earth can still produce living things without his help; b) Humility, which has greatest worth
and costs least to maintain, and 3) Pride, which costs the most and has the least worth.