"The Roman de la Rose, or Romance of the Rose tells a lengthy tale of a wistful young lover who tries to win his lady's love and prove his worthiness at the same time whilst being sad about it a lot. [...] There are a few beautifully illuminated manuscripts which show the hapless lover attempting to overcome obstacles to get to the object of his affection. He first needs to get past a number of virtues and vices personified who either attempt to help or hinder him. [...] The final scene has our hero describing an amazing array of euphemisms for deflowering a virgin. The Lover reaches the tower, but the gate is closed and needs him to push his key in the lock. The entry is too narrow. Images sometimes show twin towers with a very narrow door between them which suggest the legs of a lady and her opening between. Early on in the story, we see that Nature had given the Lover a staff which he polished in the hope of using it shortly."