The Romance of the Rose

In Jean de Meun’s continuation of the story, the narrator swings wildly between despair and hope but tries to stay loyal to hope. The narrator believes that, without Fair Welcome and the rose, the gifts from Love are useless. He blames Idleness for inviting him into the garden and allowing Love to ensnare him and thinks that Reason was right in saying that Love is foolish. He corrects himself, however, deciding to stay faithful to Love and the rose.

Reason descends from her tower again. She asks if the narrator knows much about Love; he admits that he only knows what Love told him. She decides to teach him about Love. Reason describes the concept of love in a series of paradoxes, such as “hostile peace and loving hatred, disloyal loyalty and loyal disloyalty” (65). The narrator insists that she has only confused him and asks for a new definition.

Reason says that love is a “mental illness” because lovers pursue pleasure without thought for the practical side of sex, i.e., having children. She accuses Youth of being the primary cause of this problem, as Youth encourages people to pursue foolish actions for pleasure.