ABSTRACT
Wolfram’s insistence is by no means superfluous, for he provides the narrative with a parallel hero, Gawan, who becomes the counterpart of the main figure, and whose adventures and conduct elucidate the career of the hero proper. The two characters, Parzival and Gawan, stand side by side in the work as it were, mutually explanatory of their actions, temperament, and fate. The motif of the combined quest reappears in Wolfram’s work in an amended form, so as to accentuate the parallelism of the hero and his counterpart. A number of conspicuous similarities sustains the intimate connection between them, established by the description of their first meeting, and symbolized in their spontaneous friendship. The bond of identical features and the close human contact between Parzival and Gawan ensure that Gawan appears neither as Parzival’s opponent nor his rival, and least of all as the hero’s mere reflection, but as a counterpart in his own right.
