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

34
Again, her response impassions him, and Alphonse rewards her father with an earldom,
thus making him a “Pier.” Alphonse immediately marries Petronelle. Whereas the
dialogue between father and daughter signaled the possibility of incest, Petronelle’s
marriage to the king occurs only after the transformation of Petro into a peer. In effect,
Petronelle marries a father substitute. The narrative comes close to an incestuous
relationship but instead sin is averted. Petronelle has shown by her actions and words the
intimate and loving relationship with her father, and that she is incapable of the gross sin
of incest because of her innate virtue.
As in the triumph of patriarchy in the later Tale of Apollonius, medieval marriage
involved the exchange of women, which was fundamental to making alliances between
different houses and in keeping peace. The ritual of marriage involved the giving away
of the bride, the gift to her of a ring or some coins, and the “kneeling of the bride before
the man who became her new master” (Drury 5), the final signal that she had been given
to the power of another male. In the feudal relationship the king was considered the head
of the land just as a husband was considered the head of his own household, both of these
modeling the ideal relationship between God and man. And a good king, or a good
husband, is one who is able to control his desires, focusing on the good of his family
instead of gratifying his own wishes. The endowment of Petronelle with matchless
humility and goodness is important in demonstrating that this story models charity and a
spiritual way of life. The threat of incest is stopped only by her goodness. Petronelle is a
new Mary, having “personified and advocated humility . . . not only similar to Mary in
character but in her ultimate reward; she is worthy to be exalted by King Alphonse as