User:Liam Day213/sandbox

Feirefiz:

- Paternal half-brother of Parzival through the romantic affiliation of Parzival's father Gahmuret (a famed warrior) and the pagan queen Belakne. Feirefiz is older than Parzival, with Belkane having been the romantic predecessor to Parzival's mother, Herzeloyde.

- Feirefiz is raised in his mother's household and lands and grows up pagan. A mix of white and black ancestry (with Gahmuret being white and Belkane being black), Feirefiz is depicted as having a patchwork skin mixed with white and black. Feirefiz is known as a great warrior and a great lover or women.

- When Feirefiz and Parzival duel, Feirefiz states that "You have quarreled with the same one here and I have struggled with it". This is generally deemed to show that the fight between Feirefiz and Parzival is a representation of Parzival's struggle with himself.

- Wapnewski: Interprets Feirefiz as a "ghost" of a younger, immature, more sinful Parzival. Struggle is between the mature Parzival and his younger self. "Part of Parzival's character he had to overcome before he could be worthy of the Grail". Arguement flawed because Feirefiz also finds way to Grail?

- Harms: Feirefiz could be a metaphor, but he must be recognized as an individual character as well. He grows over the story despite many of his metaphorical traits.

- The story of Feirefiz closely resembles that of Gahmuret. Feirefiz serves a pagan queen, leaves for adventure, and eventually marries the Grail King's daughter.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/40754398?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=Parzival&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DParzival%26amp%3Bacc%3Don%26amp%3Bgroup%3Dnone%26amp%3Bwc%3Don%26amp%3Bfc%3Doff&refreqid=search%3Ac25f05c7b0dd6961a5683a6639a307e4&seq=2#metadata_info_tab_contents

Drafting:

During the confrontation between Feirefiz and Parzival, Feirefiz states "You [Parzival] have quarreled with the same one here and I have struggled with it". According to Caples, many seem to think that this shows that Feirefiz was meant to be a metaphor of Parzival's young and unruly side of himself that was inclined to sin. Wapnewski also supports this claim, interpreting Feirefiz to be a "ghost" of a younger and immature Parzival, which can be seen through Feirefiz's varicolored skin that was tainted with sin. According to Wapnewski, the struggle between Parzival and Ferirefiz is representative of the struggle between the mature and immature sides of Parzival, or the "part of Parzival's character he had to overcome before he could be worthy of the Grail."

However, Caples argues against this, pointing out that Feirefiz could find his way to the Grail, which would have to mean that he was baptized and cleansed of sin, thus meaning that he had become "better". As well, Caples counters Wapnewski's claim by pointing out that Feirefiz's skin does not change color after baptism, which must mean that his skin is a permanent color and has no relation with his state of sin. Harms also agrees with this point, citing similar reasons, chief among them being Feirefiz's ability to marry the Grail King's daughter.

Caples also argues that it is impossible for Feirefiz to represent Parzival's young and immature side, as Wapnewski believes, because Feirefiz is older and also more experienced in the ways of the world. As well, Feirefiz conducts himself with honor and humility after he and Parzival end their duel. This duel, which was written as a draw, was seen to Feirefiz as Parzival's victory. Feirefiz unmasks himself and casts his blade aside, leaving himself completely at the mercy of Parzival. Feirefiz also asks if he may refer to Parzival as "du", a sign of respect and endearment. This, according to Caples, serves to show that Feirefiz is more mature than Wapnewski believes.

According to both Harms and Caples, Feirefiz must be interpreted as his own character and not as a metaphor.