Tristan

The love potion that precipitates Tristan and Isolde’s affair is a symbol of both fate and The Duality of Love. From the moment the pair drink the potion, their destiny is determined: “It was their lasting sorrow, their never-ending anguish, of which at last they died!” (194-95). Though both Tristan and Isolde attempt to resist their attraction, Gottfried’s commentary frames their efforts as futile from the start; not only their love for one another but all the actions and events that stem from it are apparently out of their control.

Also significant is the kind of love that the potion inspires—alternately agonizing and sublime, but always all-encompassing. Like many portrayals of courtly love, Gottfried’s emphasizes love’s paradoxical nature: “They were burdened by the pleasuring malady that works such miracles as changing honey to gall, turning sweetness sour, setting fire to moisture, converting balm to pain” (198). The potion itself embodies these dualities, as it tastes like wine but proves as deadly as poison (a word etymologically related to “potion”). Throughout the rest of the story, Gottfried uses imagery related to drinking to describe both the pains and pleasures of love, underscoring the potion’s symbolism. For example, when Tristan and Isolde first admit their feelings for one another, Gottfried describes them as “pour[ing] and quaff[ing] the sweetness that welled up from their hearts” (200), while he remarks of Tristan’s exile that “his life was poisoned by that woman alone” (286).