The psychology of Tristan and Iseult
Tristan and Iseult (or Isolde) is a medieval romance story, considered "the quintissential courtly romance" ( Love Sick , p. 97). Tristan is raised by his uncle, King Mark of Cornwall, and it falls upon him to escort King Mark's bride-to-be, the beautiful Princess Isolde, from her home in Ireland to the king's castle. While crossing the Irish Sea, they both mistakenly drink a love potion, and subsequently fall in love. The love potion - a potent symbol of love's madness - neatly excuses Tristan's betrayal of his uncle. In Gottfried's version, the bemused Tristan complains: "I do not know what has come over poor Isolde and me, but we have both of us gone mad in the briefest space of time, with unimaginable torment - we are dying of love . . ." Tristan and Isolde (against their better judgement) become clandestine lovers and, in doing so, stir the gods of tragedy. Much of the ensuing drama concerns their attempts to avoid discovery, and eventually...