Lines 4615-4765 Summary

Reason descends again from her tower to speak with the narrator. She tells the narrator that Love is a cruel overlord. The narrator begins to debate with her, rejecting her arguments that courtly love only brings folly and pain.

Lines 4615-4765 Analysis

This is the first of de Meun's discourses. Less space is given to describing or developing the character of Reason, and she serves mainly as a mouthpiece for one point of view presented by the author.

Reason's description of Love as a cruel master highlights a new aspect of the fuedal system. While the system at its best is one of mutual love, support, and trust between the overlord and the vassal, it can also be exploitative, which invites rebellion and probably subsequent reprisals. Reason encourages the narrator to break his vows and to rebel.

Reason's description of what...