Dear Uncle, what ails you?

In contrast to The Nibelungenlied, Parzival seems to end on a hopeful note. Anfortas is relieved of his suffering, Condwiramurs and Parzival are reunited, and Feirefiz falls in love. When the question is finally revealed, I was thrilled to see that it returned to the concept of compassion, a concept Parzival perhaps mastered in the end.

What seemed particularly compelling and refreshing through the reading of Parzival was the compassion displayed in the “othered” or “monstrous” characters. Of course Cundrie is described in quite animalistic terms (“Her nose was like a dog’s…Cundrie’s ears resembled a bear’s…p. 163) which makes her physically monstrous, but her temperament is nothing like Grendel’s mother or Morgan Le Fey, who have intentions of being destructive. As we’ve discussed in class, Cundrie understands the disposition Parzival must demonstrate in order to find the graal.

Likewise, another character who is physically othered is Feirefiz, with his magpie complexion. In the fight scene between Parzival and Feirefiz we see a form of compassion from Feirefiz when Parzival’s sword breaks; instead of killing Parzival he calls a truce. Perhaps the loophole in the argument of Feirefiz’s compassion would be the reference to “the hand of Him on high. May He avert their dying! (p. 371)” Either way, I am compelled the “infidel was magnanimous” whether it was inspired by God or not (p. 371).

And while it would be difficult to conflate these two characters into a single race (based on physical appearance and background) their physical “otherness” would bring them into a category separate from Parzival himself. However, if otherness translates to a category and perhaps a simple understanding of race, this particular picture painted by Wolfram and translated to our modern views could be hopeful; both Parzival and the “others” share an understanding of compassion. If there is compassion between categories, perhaps we end in hope.