As one examines Laxdoela Saga you will find that the lying, thieving, manipulating woman named Gudrun had power over nearly everyone she encountered. She was a fearless woman that was unafraid to share her thoughts. While we are given a very clear picture of her, it seems less clear how she relates to other women of the time. How did the traditional views of women in Medieval Iceland affect the ways Gudrun was perceived and treated? Were the ways of Gudrun typical or atypical? In the Laxdoela Saga there are many times when Gudrun manipulates the men of her life. This is not a theme that is unique to her as many women in the sagas are analogous. In the saga Gudrun says to Bolli, “You would have had just the right temper if you had been peasants ' daughters-you do nothing about anything, good or bad.” (Laxdoela Saga, Ch 48) In this circumstance Gudrun is baiting Bolli to …show more content…
“Consent of the bride was not the foremost concern of her kin.” (Ricketts pg. 67) Two of Gudrun 's marriages, specifically her marriage to Thorvald and her marriage to Bolli, occurred in this manner. Once Gudrun had become widowed the first time she was able to make her own choices as to whom she would marry, but she still chose to take her fathers feelings into consideration (Laxdoela Saga, Ch 43). By the second time Gudrun was widowed her sons had grown into men and her betrothal was now their decision, however, they left the decision up to her (Laxdoela Saga, Ch 68). Marriage was also sometimes looked at as “...the transferring of wealth and a woman.” or a “...political and commercial contract.” (Jochens pg. 52) When an agreement has been made and the brideprice has been stated, the betrothal is sealed with a handsal (Ricketts pg. 68). While it is not directly stated in the saga we can assume that this was the way Gudrun 's betrothals were performed. Gudrun 's marriages were quite typical
Wealth and family status was a determining factor upon marriage. Women were expected to have a dowry from their family that would allow them to be auctioned off to suitors. The marriage market was much like the stock exchange in that it allowed
But even through a gap of almost 1,200 years, we see in We Have Always Lived in the Castle, written in the 1960’s, that the views of women having a say in the community is a minority, and not everyone agrees. Yes, there has been some sort of progress in women’s right, from 800 AD, alike in Beowulf, a person who wants revenge on her son’s death, is considered a hell-bride, but in the mid 1900’s, it would receive a little bit of a less negative reaction. But in both in Beowulf and We Have Always Lived in the Castle men are considered the ruler of them family, well at least until Merricat kills everybody. In my opinion, Merricat’s way of looking the hierarchy of gender, is different of having women in control, that symbolizes that idea that began as a minute topic in the time period of the 1960’s, and has expanded into the situation of women’s role of
In the novel The Once and Future King, by T.H. White, the character, Queen Guenever, is depicted as a confused and lost woman in an arranged marriage. She had an internal struggle with a shameful secret, an affair with the ugly knight, Lancelot. In the time of King Arthur, women were limited to what they could do, and what decisions they were able to make. She ultimately made some wrong choices in her life, which led to the disapproval from those around her. She was in her marriage by force and had no malicious intensions, but did what she felt she needed.
Where marriage was concerned, Anglo-Saxon women had the possibility of marrying anyone they chose. Sometimes marriages were arranged to keep peace between two clans, but the women still had the right to refuse the proposal. Since women could own land in this early culture, morgengifu (morning gifs) like land were given to a prospective the wife to persuade her to marry. Because husband and wife, if they wer...
Weddings were always a religious ceremony, conducted by a minister. The religions varied but the legal process prior to the wedding was always the same. There were no Registry Office marriages or marriages conducted by a Justice of the Peace. The first stage was Crying the Banns, announcing a couple's intention to marry. The same procedure still applies to Church marriages in England today. The Elizabethan Wedding custom dictated that the couple's intention to marry had to be announced in the church three times on three consecutive Sundays or Holy days. This allowed time for any objections to be raised or pre-contracts to be discovered. Any marriage not published beforehand was considered clandestine and illegal. Wedding invitations were not issued. People lived in small communities
Since this is ancient times this is the time where women were not as equal with men as they are in the present. This is the reason why this chapter will be my favorite out of the whole poem. This is the chapter where Grendel's Mother shows how powerful we women are and she takes out Hrothgar’s best man. You can already see that they did not really appreciate women because they did not take the time to remember Grendel's mother’s name, and in the poem she is called Grendel's Mother.
One of the more in depth stories that Migdim told was how she refused the marriage to the man her father chose for her. It is customary for a woman to get married to her paternal first cousin. Her female relatives made her the tent she was going to live in and brought her some bridal gifts. Migdim refused to eat as well as covering herself in color in order to holdup the wedding. After much objection, Migdim did not marry the man that her father chose. Actuality, her father failed twice trying to arrange a marriage for her.
The women in Beowulf are barely discussed and seem to exist solely for the use of the men. They are weak and portray none of the legendary qualities that the men display. Wealhtheow, the Queen of Danes and Hrothgar's wife, is the only female character in the epic that talks. In a speech to her husband, we are able to see that she is a strong woman, who is able to speak her mind. She tells the king that it is good that he adopted Beowulf, but reminds him that he already has two sons. However, her speech is made while she carries the drinking goblet to all of the men in the room, "Wealhtheow came in,/ Hrothgar's queen, observing the courtesies./ Adorned in her gold, she graciously handed the cup first to Hrothgar, their homeland's guardian,/ urging him to drink deep and enjoy it because he was dear to them" (612-618). When she is given the opportunity to talk, she only praises the men and plays a role defined by their society.
Some of the other cultures that have been discussed in class and previous readings hold women at a lower standard and withhold any power from them. The women of the Icelandic culture benefit greatly by receiving a fair amount of power. Women in “Njal’s Saga” are given the ability to take charge of the household which is typically a large property and this instills a large amount of influence in the daily working of the household. She is not merely in charge of the upkeep but is allowed to take on legal matters which involve the household and purchase what she wants for the property which can be seen when she purchases Atli. “Atli said, ‘Do you have any authority here?’ ‘I’m Njal’s wife,’ she said, ‘and I have no less authority in hiring than he does.’” (60) The purpose of buying Atli’s services is told to Njal by Bergthora as he is a good worker and works well with his hands, but she is also manipulating Nj...
During the pre-exilic period of Christian marriage, the father of the future husband would go to the father of the future wife and the two fathers would propose a marriage. The author drew from this that spouses back then were very young and that they had no authority to propose a marriage on their own will. Marriages at this time period usually were formed to settle disputes over money or legal agreements. When both families concluded that the marriage was final, the future husband would send gifts to the future wife’s father to seal the agreement. These gifts also showed that the man was serious about the marriage proposal.
The women characters in Beowulf show that during the time period in which this was written, the roles of women were clearly defined. While, the author's views on women may never be fully revealed, it is made apparent that he believes in male superiority, and disobedient females ought to be suppressed. Like Wealhtheow, females were to exert minimal power and influence, but should always keep the drinks coming.
For one, Tolkien is not a sexist because he illustrates his female characters as growing individualists. Three of the most prominent of these female characters are Eowyn, Galadriel, and Arwen from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Once Eowyn is knocked on her back from the rejection of Aragorn, she “must search for healing” (Enright 93). Because Eowyn is forced away from a companionship, she must learn to become an individual in order to be successful. The power of leadership is a motif throughout the stories of the Lord of the Rings and “Galadriel is a stronger embodiment of this power than her husband Celeborn” (Enright 93). In this time period, this is looked upon as a rarity, but back in the time period where Tolkien wrote it, it must have been an absolute outrage that a female character could be more dominant than the male king of a society since women did not have much power or choice. With the third character, Arwen, she is able to overcome the separation between herself and...
In conclusion, both women and men were portrayed to be different in the medieval times than from today's times. Women were expected to be docile and submissive, while on te other hand man had to be proved tough by being well dressed, uncowardly, and by concealing any emotions that a man were to be feeling at that moment. In today's society women are now believed to be as an equal individual as a
Marriages were arranged. Because girls lived such sheltered lives, they usually had never even met the men their fathers agreed for them to marry. Men were mostly in their twenties when they got married, the girls were usually 15.
Although what we were told by God, in many primitive civilizations marriage was primarily industrial. During early times husband and wife were not much together; they did not even eat together very often.(The Marriage Institution 1). Their marriages were always planned by their parents and in some cases brides were bought. Polygamy was also frequent in the early history of marriage. Although, as civilization progressed monogamy became the idealistic goal of human sex evolution.(The Marriage Institution 6). In addition, as civilization advanced, marriage became more seriously regarded and the wedding ceremony became recurrent. The marriage ceremony grew out of the fact that marriage was originally a community affair and also primitive man had no records, so the marriage had to be witnessed by many people.