Das Unbehagen des Helden

On his adventurous journey, the Arthurian hero Erec learns to feel compassion for the suffering of others. However, at the beginning of this journey, he is plagued by the tormenting feeling of shame following a public humiliation. Both feelings stem from the ability to adopt a self-reflective distance. A comparison with the French source of Hartmann, Chrétiens Erec et Enide, from an emotional theoretical perspective shows that the German poet, with the gain of self-mastery, also opens up new realms of self-doubt, guilt, and shame. In this respect, tendencies of a rationalization process can be discerned in Hartmann's Erec, in which the internalization of societal norms is accompanied by the establishment of negative inner worlds and a noticeable loss of attachment feelings.