LTWL 172 Parzival and the Grail
Questions for Book VI

Please answer question 1. 

1. In this book Parzival is held in a kind of trance by three blood drops on the snow that make him think of Condwiramurs?  What might these drops symbolize?  What does Parzival’s trance tell us about his love for Condwiramurs?  About love in general?

2. What is the tone of this episode?  Compare it to the siege of Pelrapeire?  What are the similarities and differences?

3. How does Wolfram’s version of the blood drop scene differ from Chrétien?

4. Who is Cundrie?  How would you characterize her?  How does her characterization work with the text’s exploration of the relationship between inner and outer beauty? 

5.  Cundrie berates Parzival.  What, in her eyes has he done?  What is his “curse”?