Lanval Analysis

In early British literature, female characters portrayed eminent heroic roles that contradicted their roles in reality. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the Revolution and Restoration periods, women in society were expected to bear and raise children, take care of the domestic affairs of the house, and maintain a lady-like comportment and demeanor. However, female characters in literary works during this time often disregarded these social norms. For example, they rescued male characters from death and proclaimed their voices of reason. This depiction is the complete opposite of the stereotypical role of women in early British society, as female characters in literature asserted themselves much more conspicuously in a male-dominated

In fact, her character displayed more masculine qualities than Lanval himself. For example, his love for her infantilized and debilitated Lanval, as he “from time to time fainted” and “cried a hundred times,” illustrating the immense hold the Fairy Queen’s power had over him (Marie de France, 160). Instead of Lanval rescuing the Fairy Queen, the opposite transpired. Just as Lanval was about to face a sentence of death, the Fairy Queen rides into Arthur’s castle on a horse and saves him, further reducing his power when he “leaped, in one bound, onto the palfrey, behind her” (Marie de France, 166). Unlike the typical role of a man in early British society, Lanval played a significantly more passive and submissive role compared to his female counterpart. The role of the Fairy Queen in Lanval had the potential to suggest the idea of women in power as something that could become more acceptable; however, the emasculating idea of courtly love did not help change the attitude toward women and power during the Middle

Clarissa was a foil to these stereotypical ideas, and spoke with masculine discernment not usually held by women, about the importance of knowledge in a world where vanity is venerated. Rejecting the notion that women are to idolize their vanity and succumb to the societal pressures of maintaining the upmost outward appearance, Clarissa argued “charm strikes the sight, but merit wins the soul” (Pope, 2702). Making statements as such, and questioning “why are beauties praised and honored most” as opposed to passion and intelligence exemplified how Clarissa was repelling against the social norms, since women of this time were not expected to possess the same intellectual ideals maintained by men (Pope, 2701). Perhaps Pope recognized this, which was why he chose to mock these values of society at that time. However, because Pope chose to satirize this in his literary work indicated that a woman’s role had not progressed in