Women in Arthurian romances are characterized in several ways, portraying beauty, rank, and educational achievements. Some women provide key roles in different areas of the novel, but are often still in a place of male authority. Within the narrative of Gottfried Von Strassburg’s Tristan, there are various articulations about the power dynamics between men and women. The attainment of power is different throughout the characters, ranging from Blancheflor, who has power over her own destiny; Queen Isolde, who has complete autonomy over herself and influence over her husband, except when it comes to his decisions for their daughter; Princess Isolde the Fair, who has power over her lover Tristan and her maiden Brangane, but not over her own body; and Brangane, who is under the authority of Princess Isolde until she steps outside the boundaries and betrays Isolde. These characters demonstrate the continuous struggle most women face within the Arthurian world. Blancheflor is a character that navigates power structures to shape her own destiny. She is not controlled by her husband, but instead asserts her own desires and strives to achieve them through the subservience of her lover, Rivalin. A strong instance of Blancheflor’s power over Rivalin is when, after finding out she is pregnant and expresses her fears to Rivalin about the future, he states that he will do whatever she desires him to do. He tells Blancheflor, “I myself and all that I have shall always be at your service…for whatever you wish, I wish it too” (61). Rivalin is clearly stating that he will assist Blancheflor in anything that she desires to happen, and will accept her opinions and plans as his own. In this case, she wishes to elope so that no one will know of the premarital conception of their child. Rivalin accepts her plans without hesitation, showing his powerlessness under his love’s desires. Queen
Blanche’s immoral and illogical decisions all stem from her husband's suicide. When a tragedy happens in someone’s life, it shows the person’s true colors. Blanche’s true self was an alcoholic and sex addict, which is displayed when “She rushes about frantically, hiding the bottle in a closet, crouching at the mirror and dabbing her face with cologne and powder” (Williams 122). Although Blanche is an alcoholic, she tries to hide it from others. She is aware of her true self and tries to hide it within illusions. Blanche pretends to be proper and young with her fancy clothes and makeup but is only masking her true, broken self.
Women were always viewed as weak, dependent, and powerless in the Middle Ages. Not only is it a common view during that time period, but this also is often stereotyped labeled to women today as well. In the romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the hatred of women is portrayed throughout. However, while women are certainly looked down upon, they also are influential to the knights. This romance also portrays how a woman having different characteristics, could change the way she was viewed as well. Although women in the Middle Ages appeared to lack power, the women in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight have a hidden influence over the men and actually drive the action of the medieval romance.
...’s Lanval and Laustic, were subservient to men in three different ways: by being considered temptresses, by needing men’s protection, and by obeying men’s orders. The lady of Laustic conforms to all these types, and the Queen in Lanval as well, with the exception that as the Queen she has some power. Lanval’s lover breaks some of these trends, but we later learn that she is a lady of Avalon, the mythical land where King Arthur is buried and whence he will come again, and therefore it is not surprising that she does not conform to the standard status of women.
In Malory’s famous account of the King Arthur legend, the most notable example of woman as destructive sexual temptation is, of course, Queen Guinevere. Sir Lancelot’s affair wi...
One of the aspects of the Middle Ages which is explored by numerous scholars today is that of the antifeminist stereotypes which pervaded literature and cultural mores during the period. In an era governed by men, the fact that women were treated as inferior is unsurprising; archetypal visions of femininity fit neatly into medieval history. However, most people would like to believe that such pigeonholing has been left in the past, allowing for more liberated times in which women are portrayed realistically and as the equals of men.
The elements of courtly love operate at several levels simultaneously in The Knight of the Cart; they are expressed by the behaviors of Lancelot, Queen Guinevere, Meleagant and other characters in the story. Two vividly deployed elements are the concepts of loyalt...
The Infant Child plays a huge role in Blanche’s early life. As a result of her mother’s death, Blanche has a fearful temperament, and
Perhaps the cliché phrase “behind every great man is a powerful woman” can shed light on why Germans consider honor and power feminine. Many people often idealize men with power and women with gentleness. However, the Germanic tales, The Nibelungenlied and Njal’s Saga, both demonstrate a very different reality. The heroes of both tales, Siegfried and Gunnar, are very well respected and powerful men who only married women they viewed of considerable prestige and status. Yet, Siegfried’s and Gunnar’s wives, Kriemhild and Hallgerd, usurps power from their husbands through manipulation, which ironically results in their husbands’ deaths. Arm with their manipulative power, both Kriemhild and Hallgerd are arguably much more powerful than their heroic husbands; yet, they differ in the way they reveal this power leading Kriemhild’s successful revenge and Hall...
Traditional female characteristics and female unrest are underscored in literary works of the Middle Ages. Although patriarchal views were firmly established back then, traces of female contempt for such beliefs could be found in several popular literary works. Female characters’ opposition to societal norms serves to create humor and wish- fulfillment for female and male audiences to enjoy. “Lanval” by Marie De France and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” by Geoffrey Chaucer both show subversion of patriarchal attitudes by displaying the women in the text as superior or equal to the men. However, “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” also incorporates conventional societal ideas by including degradation of women and mistreatment of a wife by her husband.
In both Sundiata and The Romance of Tristan and Iseult women do have power within the society. This power is shown through their knowledge, experience, and craftiness. This power that they possess in both the Epic and Romance story are crucial to the success and failure of both stories.
A nameless servant, bed mate to a war hungry lord, waits for her husband’s return; this is the average interpretation a modern day woman will have of women of the Middle Ages. As a woman of the Old English era, many believe that the influence of women was not valued. However, the relevance of culture is an important factor in the address of the typical female figure. While old tales depict more negative views on women such as, adulterous, hags or servants; females actually served a much greater and accepted purpose. Although it is inevitable that some women were not pardoned by men due to their discrepancies toward them, most women maintained dignity within the household. In the story of Beowulf the accepted roles of women revolve around remaining loyal and serving men.
Marie de France’s “Lanval” is a Breton lai dominated by themes common to 12th century literature, which through its exploration of love, erotic desire, wealth, gender and community, tells the story of a young knight who finds himself caught between two worlds: his lover’s and his own. Forced to separate these societies by a warning in which his lover states, “do not let any man know about this…you would lose me for good if this love were known” (Lines 145-148), Lanval must keep his love a secret and exist apart from the Arthurian world into which he was born. Consequently, romantic love between Lanval and his fairie queen exists conditionally, that is upon Lanval’s physical and emotional isolation. This restriction suggests that romantic love, as described in terms of erotic desire and physical/emotional devotion throughout “Lanval,” is unsuited for existence in the mundanity of Arthurian society. Therefore, Lanval’s solitude is necessary for his maintaining his relationship with the fairie queen, a fact that suggests the incompatibility of romantic love with Arthurian society, as Marie depicts it.
As Stanley continues torturing Blanche and draws Stella and Mitch away from her, Blanche’s sanity slowly dwindles. Even though she lied throughout the play, her dishonesty becomes more noticeable and irrational due to Stanley's torment about her horrible past. After dealing with the deaths of her whole family, she loses Belle Reve, the estate on which her and her sister grew up. This is too much for Blanche to handle causing her moral vision to be blurred by “her desperate need to be with someone, with ancestors for models who indulged in “epic fornications” with impunity, [Blanche] moves through the world filling the void in her life with lust” (Kataria 2). She also loses a young husband who killed himself after she found out he was gay when she caught him with another man. After that traumatic experience she needed “a cosy nook to squirm herself into because ...
There is an unnaturalness where gender and generational roles are subverted. In the context relating to the death of Henry Tudor and the incest and witchcraft tainting Elizabeth’s birth and duality as a Virgin Queen. Overall in King Lear the issues surrounding gender are associated with unnaturalness, a deviation from the laws of nature, from the authority of God and the misuse of power. Gender and its treatment is the cause of the fall of Lear’s reign. The incest and adultery are a curse on the land and the royalty, the wind battles against the evil natures of the characters men. The restoration of the patriarchy and order in society is linked to the chastisement undergone by Edgar, and the result being the victory of his noble and chivalrous character over that of the false Edmund. The darkness and shame of the relationship to the female gender and sexuality are brought to life, and rage throughout, what was hidden or kept in the darkness is brought out. In relation to the context the issue being the challenge to patriarchal culture and the tragedy of the reversal of gender roles resulting from the hamartia or fall of grace of the noble
Some fairy tales are so iconic that they withstand the passing of time. One of those fairy tales is that of Cinderella. The rags to riches story that gives even the lowliest of paupers, hope that they may one day climb the social ladder. While the core message of the story has transcended time, over the years it has been adapted to address a variety of audiences. One of those renditions is Perrault’s Cinderella where the traditional idea of gender is conveyed and therefore associated with good/evil. This idea is challenged by a fellow 1600’s French author, L’heriter de Villandon’s, who’s version of Cinderella brings about a female protagonist who is also the heroine.