Bisclavret

Bisclavret is a young baron who is introduced as handsome and noble, as well as loved by all in his home realm of Brittany. He lives with his beautiful wife and their life is normal; except for a three day span where Bisclavret disappears and nobody knows where he goes. His wife finally confronts him when he arrives back from one of his secret escapades. She questions what he does on his time away and assumes he is caring to another lover. He urges her to withdraw her question because great harm would come to them, and Bisclavret would lose her love. She perseveres with her questioning assuring him that he can trust her and he will not lose her love. Bisclavret finally reveals his secret; he turns into a werewolf. He reveals the process; he must remove his clothing to turn into a werewolf, and hide his clothes in order to help turn him back into a man. Essentially, without his clothes he would remain a werewolf forever. Bisclavret's wife insists he reveals his hiding spot for his clothing and when he does, she plots with a knight who has long since loved her to steal his clothing so he will remain a werewolf forever. After the clothes were stolen, the lady marries the knight, Bisclavret is searched for but never found, and all are forced to move on. A year passes and the king is out on a hunt when he comes upon Bisclavret (in wolf form) and is astonished by this "creature's" intelligence. While out on a hunt, Bisclavret crosses paths with his wife, attacks her, and rips off her nose. Under torture, the wife confesses all that she has done, as well as that the werewolf is in fact her husband. The clothes are returned and Bisclavret is able to turn back into a human. Bisclavret is returned his lands, while his wife and her new husband were banished, and their daughters were to be born without noses.

A common theme can be seen among Marie de France's lais. Women generally commit infidelity and are portrayed as the bad characters. A lapse in loyalty can be seen not only across "Bisclavret", when the wife disposes of the clothing to be with the knight, but also in "Equitan" where Equitan himself betrays his seneschal just to be lovers with the seneschal's wife. With that being said, love is also a recurring theme, whether it is within marriage, or extramarital affairs, for example having a lover. Equitan's only love was one that had to be hidden because it showed a lapse in loyalty on both sides. In the case of Bisclavret, he is betrayed by his wife in that she plots to keep him from being able to turn back into a human because she was disgusted and did "not want to lie with him anymore."