Essay for Week 13: The Heptameron of Margaret, Queen of Navarre Analysis

The Heptameron of Margaret, Queen of Navarre Analysis

(Queen Navarre)

This was not my favorite unit. The past two weeks have not been my favorite units. I think I am more of an international person. The French/British/North American stuff does not interest me. I think I was born in the wrong country! Or race. Or both. The Heptameron of Margaret, Queen of Navarre  Unit is what I am referring to.

I think what I originally did not like about it was the dialogue before and after the stories. It seemed pointless and redundant. A lot of the conversation just reiterated what the story had told, which was too repetitive for my taste. The stories themselves were okay. They were a bit dark and brooding. They also touched on topics that were uncomfortable to me. The Virgin With Child was disturbing. Incest is a very taboo topic to society. It's taboo in the story too, so it's not like a difference in culture thing. I think my favorite story was The Lady From Milan and Her Lover. This was so because it was the least weird and most romantic. Even though the guy stalked her for three years...that's also disturbing. It was the best out of them all though.

Another thing that bothered me was the language. It was difficult to smoothly read. I got through everything alright, but I was easily stuck on a few sentences and phrases that just would not register for me.

One more thing I found troubling about this week and last week's readings is that they're all too familiar to me. I've heard all of these stories growing up and they are a part of my ancestry. I chose this unit because I had never heard of this Queen or any of her stories, so at least it was new information. If I have to read one more Alice in Wonderland story, I'm going to croak.

This unit helped my goal in life and for this class by just reconfirming that I am not a fan of Western culture. Including stories. That's good to know! I can avoid it. Haha :)