The Wild Man

Text: Yvain    

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tugendreiche_Dame_z%C3%A4hmt_Wildmann.png     

Descriptive Excerpt from the Text   

"They know well enough that he cares nothing for their talk or their society. And he goes away until he is far from the tents and pavilions. Then such a storm broke loose in his brain that he loses his senses; he tears his flesh and, stripping off his clothes, he flees across the meadows and fields, leaving his men quite at a loss, and wondering what has become of him. (18) They go in search of him through all the country around -- in the lodgings of the knights, by the hedgerows, and in the gardens -- but they seek him where he is not to be found. Still fleeing, he rapidly pursued his way until he met close by a park a lad who had in his hand a bow and five barbed arrows, which were very sharp and broad. He had sense enough to go and take the bow and arrows which he held. However, he had no recollection of anything that he had done. He lies in wait for the beasts in the woods, killing them, and then eating the venison raw. Thus he dwelt in the forest like a madman or a savage."   

Literary Context      

Yvain in his wild man form is being listed in this bestiary because of the contrast he provides to the other creatures of ambiguous status, especially the herdsman, and what this says about the fluidity of humanity- which the wild man shows can be lost and regained. Humanity, in the face of madness and grief is fallible and when its foundations crumple, un-civilizing forces take hold and one can become a beast. However, the wild man has the advantage of passing back into society if recognized by a human who chooses to help them. Both Yvain and Chuck Noland in Cast Away are brought back into society by being invited into a relationship with another person -in Chuck's case this was imagined as a coping mechanism to isolation, but it still had the same motivating effect.

Modern Representation     

Tom Hanks' madness in Castaway is a result of his surroundings, whereas Yvain's surroundings are a result of his madness; both have their madness accentuated by their nudity.