In order to portray Marie de France as a pioneer against societal standards for adultery, one must first define the societal and literary expectations of adultery. This is done through the use of her characters in the lays. In Le Fresne, the neighbor's wife bore twins. For this, the knight's wife regarded her with "shame and dishonor", because "it never occurred that a woman gave birth to two sons at once, unless two men are the cause of it", implying that the neighbor's wife committed adultery (de France 61). Her reaction of shame and dishonor to her neighbor's supposed adulterous actions shows that Marie views society as unforgiving of adulterous thoughts. Yet these expectations towards adultery contradict the courtly love that was so popular during Marie's time. Other writers of that time, such as Chretien de Troyes, had already portrayed adulterous affairs between characters of high status in his romantic portrayals of courtly love. This courtly love is defined by its allowance of adulterous actions as long as those within the affair are in love with each other and no one else, a love that is reasonable for no reason. This approach to adultery definitely had appeal to those in high status, because they could see themselves in each of the characters. And although society condemns adulterous thoughts, the individual can relate to these writings because they too have entertained thoughts of a forbidden love affair.

Marie, however, does not uphold either the societal or literary standards of writing. Her lays find a medium between the two, through the use of either the punishment or the rewarding of her characters. For instance, the fate of Tristram in Chevrofoil shows us that Marie denies the societal view towards adultery. Tristram, involved with an adulterous affair with the queen, is banished from the kingdom by his king. After some time, Tristram is able to visit his lover, and she tells him of the king's sadness towards banishing him. Tristram is able to be "reconciled with the king", even though he commited an adulterous affair with the king's wife (110). His reconcilement shows that Marie, acknowledging Tristram's true love for the queen, allows adulterous affairs as long as those within them have reason to commit adultery.

This theme is consistent with the lay of Laustic. The characters, deeply in love with each other, pursue a love of unfulfillment. The lovers cannot satisfy their sexual desires, so the speak to one another at every opportunity. Their love, symbolized by the nightingale that sings when the lovers are together, is vanquished by the husband of the female lover by killing the nightingale. However, Marie does not see this as a punishment. The nightingale gets "embroidered in gold" (96) and is therefore preserved forever, just as their love will be preserved forever. This permanency of love shows that the lovers were in fact rewarded, revealing that Marie de France believes the lovers had good reason to pursue an adulterous affair. This allowance of an adulterous affair conflicts with societal views toward adultery, so one must assume that Marie does not uphold the societal bandwagon in her writing.

However, not all adulterous affairs between the characters are justified according to Marie. Marie punishes these characters for their actions, to show that her views toward adultery are not consistent with courtly standards. In Equitan, for example, a king seeks the wife of his seneschal. He commits adultery with this lady, and in return both are punished for it. This adulterous affair is commited against a seneschal undeserving of adultery against him. He was a "good knight, brave and loyal" to the king, and upheld the king's wishes at all times (56). The only aspect of the king that set him apart from the seneschal was his lack of nobility. Therefore, the only reason for the seneschal's wife to commit adultery against her husband was because the king was of higher status. This reason for adultery is unjustified to Marie de France. She states through her characters that "love is not honourable, unless it is based upon equality" (58). However, the king's love for his seneschal's wife was truer than her love for him, creating an unequal distribution of love. For this, the lovers are scalded to death for their sins. Marie does not allow adultery in a situation of unequal love, because it is not reasonable. Courtly love in itself, however, is not reasonable. If courtly love is without reason and Marie only allows adulterous love with reason, then one can assume that Marie does not agree with courtly love. This disagreement with courtly love based on the standards of the literary period shows us Marie's unorthodoxy towards issues of adulterous relationships.

The Lais of Marie de France give us an impression of Marie's view towards adultery and love. This view defies both the courtly standard and the societal standard placed on love and teaches us one thing. Love must be reciprocal, and cannot be associated with simplicity. Therefore, according to Marie, one must have good reason to love another, and even more so must have reason to commit adultery.

France, Marie de. "The Lais of Marie De France". Trans by Glyn Burgess and Keith Busby. London: Penguin, 1986.