The Romance of Tristan- Parts 7-14

Question 2
While both Tristan and Yseut were affected similarly by the potion, their reactions when it wore off were quite different. When Tristan realizes that the effects of the potion are no longer active he becomes repentant and he mourns the hardship that he has caused Yseut. He also is upset about the situation that he is in, but this issue is of less importance to him than that of Yseut's suffering. He also resolves to reconcile Mark and Yseut so that she can live a life that befits a queen.

Ysuet's reaction to the potion wearing off shows much more self sympathy. Her prime concern was that she wasn't being treated like a queen. She does mention the fact that much of Tristan's life has been wasted, but the majority of her monologue is self pitying.

I believe that the reason for this disparity in reactions is due to a difference in the couples feelings for each other. I think that Tristan is more in love with Yseut than she is with him. My reasoning for this lies in a scene later on in the book. Towards the end there is a part called "Tristan's Madness". In this scene Tristan goes mad from his love for Yseut and he cuts his hair and looks like a vagabond. When he goes to Yseut she refused to believe it is him and cites the fact that Tristan was hansom and the new Tristan is not. She continues to cling to this logic, even when Tristan tells her numerous facts that only he could know. I find that this shows that Yseut's love for Tristan is based more in his good looks than in his actual personality, whereas Tristan's love is more accepting.