Lines 3957-4100 Summary

Dread appears. Dread and Shame wake Daunger, who drives Bialacoil away, vowing to lock him up. Daunger forbids all comers from the rosebed and begins to close up all gaps he finds in the hedge.

Lines 3957-4100 Analysis

In this section, is is important to keep the allegorical significance of the characters in mind, and to remember that Shame, Dread, Bialacoil and Daunger are all aspects of the lady's personality, and to remember that Bialacoil is not the lady. A common mistake in interpreting this passage - which seems to have been made by Jean de Meun, who continued Guillaume De Lorris's work is to confuse Bialacoil with the lady, on the grounds that he/she is driven away and later locked up. However, it must be remembered that only Jealousy and Wikked-Tunge (at least so far) are external forces. While...