Abstract
This article studies the representation of the myth of Pygmalion in the Roman de la Rose, from the proleptic signaling of the myth in Guillaume de Lorris’s opening half of the work—through its counterpart in the tale of Narcissus, specifically—to Jean de Meun’s later section of the Rose, which deals explicitly with the Ovidian example, granting the myth a central and decisive function. Offering an intertextual critique that removes many of the more overtly negative valences found in the classical text, Jean de Meun’s treatment of the Pygmalion myth provides an important renegotiation of the preparatory Narcissean foil to the myth. It also renegotiates Ovid’s discussion of Pygmalion as it relates to the character’s agential, authorial role in the creation of his statue, and to his own positionality as the author of the text that labors to bring the exemplum to the fore. Thus, Jean de Meun’s Ovidianism not only helps elucidate Ovid’s representation of Pygmalion, it also clarifies both authors’ deft management and remanagement of creative agency, particularly as they relate to Pygmalion’s animation of his statue, and to the authorial strategies and intertextual dialogues comprising the writerly craft.
