Perceval the Guesser
Going back to the issue of names, I thought names were given special significance in “The Story of the Grail.” It comes up within the first few pages of the story, when Perceval’s mother sends him off with some advice: “Never keep company with anyone for very long, whether at an inn or on the road, without asking his name. Learn his name in full, for by the name one knows the man” (388). Keeping this quotation in mind, what’s the significance of him having to “guess” his name after he leaves the castle of the Fisher King? “And the youth, who did not know his name, guessed and said he was called Perceval the Welshman. But although he did not know if that were true or not, he spoke the truth without knowing it” (425). In light of everything we’ve been talking about in class, I thought this raised some really interesting questions. What does this mean for Perceval in terms of his identity? His current and future reputation? What is the significance of him getting renamed “Perceval the wretched” by his cousin moments after he names himself?
Tessa wrote:
Well, the notes at the back state: “Perceval’s discovery of his name by intuition is clearly a significant moment in his development, since a man’s name was believed to be an integral part of his personality.” It is intersting at this time that names were supposed to tell something about the person, sort of like astrology, since even today parent’s use baby name books to see what the actual ‘meaning’ of any name actually is. For instance Claire means light. As for Perceval discovering his own true name, there is a tradition in more modern fantasy for characters, usually magicians or the like, to have to discover their ‘true’ name as part of their training. Certainly many stories depict evil wizards and such having power over a person if they know the person’s real name. Perhaps only when Perceval has developed as a character and has discovered his true calling can he intuitively know his real name?
Posted 27 Sep 2007 at 1:29 pm ¶
Dan wrote:
Although this may not be directly related to your question, Mollie, I think it is interesting to consider as the evolution of Perceval’s name.
In Steinbeck’s Arthurian tale, the Round Table has one seat that is empty. Merlin predicts that the one to sit in that chair will be the greatest knight in history and that that knight will bring the end of King Arthur’s court.
The chair is named Perceval.
The knight is named Lancelot.
Posted 27 Sep 2007 at 2:25 pm ¶
madison73 wrote:
I think Tessa’s got a good point that his realization of his name was sort of his point of maturity and becoming a bona fide knight. In the beginning of the story he was pretty pathetic Aside his fighting skills, he had no idea how to deal with women and he didn’t really understand what people said to him (i.e. he took things too literally) so that he came off as quite a fool. Maybe Chretien is flirting with the idea of having to earn your name, so Perceval doesn’t know his name until he is actually worth something. Does anyone know what ‘Perceval’ means or where it has its origins?
Posted 30 Sep 2007 at 10:13 pm ¶
cristinamabob wrote:
“ce val” translates to “this valley” from french to english.
Posted 14 Oct 2007 at 10:26 pm ¶
mollie wrote:
Wow, I never thought of that! “Per” means “through,” so per-ce-val=”through this valley?” Is there some kind of Biblical reference here?
Posted 14 Oct 2007 at 10:40 pm ¶