Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Depiction of women in literature
Roles of women in history
Masculinity in the 1800s
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
There are many ways to define a man, but they get their definition from the actions they uphold. Some men are well respected because of the success they have earned over time. While others earn respect not from their level of success, but from the hard work they have done over the years. Respect means a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements. This deep admiration can be easily taken away by a dishonorable act done by a man. In the Wife of Bath a knight carry’s out an atrocious act that causes the respect citizens have for him to greatly change, while in The Men We Carry in our Minds have earned respect over the years with hard work and dedication to provide for their family. Respect is incredibly important to a man which is why they try their best to earn the respect of others through accomplishments and hard work. In “The Men we carry in our Minds” he explains that men have it hard, because they have the weight of having to …show more content…
Keeping the respect from others is also something men have to deal with, they are constantly criticized if they do not get one thing done correctly. Often men loose respect for many reasons such as poor decisions, not being a good father, disappointing family, those are just some of the most common reasons. Those men who earn respect through hard work tend to not risk losing that respect, because how hard they worked for it. When the Knight on the other hand knows he has power and has the mind set of being able to do as he pleases. For example, the knight did a very did honorable thing one night. He saw this pretty woman and knew he had the power to get what he wanted from her. He took advantage of this woman and raped her. This is against his code of honor of being a knight. Since he decided to make this choice his knightly hood can be taken away and others no longer respect
The hierarchy told stories of great warriors like Beowulf, who were selfless and fought for honor, and then wrote guides like the Art of Courtly Love, in which love is selfish and that those in power should take what they desire. I believe that, through literature, we can find the true answer to this issue: that the honor of the hierarchy was tool rather than a guide. A tool to have the lower class look up to them, to keep them in power because those less fortunate thought that they were heroes, rather than what they really were. Perhaps chivalry and honor are more concepts than reality.
Honor, just as today, is the way your name is viewed by others in the public. Threats toward ones honor might be defended differently in the public view. Honor varied between genders. Males felt it necessary to defend their honor when another slighted their masculinity, family, or physical ability. Females felt honor too. They often saw it important to defend their honor like did the males. Usually it was defended by gossip or name-calling but on occasion did result in physical violence as well. Females saw honor in a moral sense. Ones sexual activity or lack thereof before marriage, fidelity in marriage and celibacy after marriage all proved a woman to be honorable. Just like today, a personal reputation would be on the line if called a demoralizing name.
Unlike any other character that Chaucer has spoken of the knight is the only one that seems to actually be living up to his role in society. This question me on how truth full, every description is of each and every character. A knight code of conduct is to be polite to others, even those who are lower in ranking than he is. The knight is suppose to serve the king, fight for what he believes in, and be honorable.
The comparisons between Medea and Hamlet are numerous. Both are stories about revenge that end in the controversial main character sacrificing everything in order to preserve one of the most important markers of identity of their time: honor. Medea was a controversial character in ancient times not only because of her filicide, but because she asserted that women have honor, an idea that was not the norm in Greece. In sharp contrast to her is Hamlet, the tragic hero that was honor-bound by his society to avenge his father’s death, yet only does so at the expense of his entire kingdom. The difference in how society treats Hamlet and Medea in their quests to preserve their honor result in tragedy for both characters, as Hamlet lets the masculine values of honor in his society come in the way of his sanity and Medea draws honor, in a society that does not acknowledge her efforts as valid, out to its very limits, causing Jason pain at the expense of her own children, despite social pressures such as duty and gender roles deterring them from completing their vengeance. Both sacrifice almost everything in their quests, breaking societal norms and bringing into question the validity of their revenge.
In Shakespeare's work Richard II , He talks about how honor is one of his highest priorities. “Mine honor is my life, both grow in one; Take honor from me, and my life is done; Then, dear liege, mine honor let me try; In that I live, and for that I will die” (Parrott, 1953, p. 308) This piece shows the intensity of one's need for honor. The act of insulting someone was a serious matter. By...
Respect for women and courtesy were two major characteristics that knights longed to develop, and King Arthur was able to demonstrate them in two specific instances. Arthur showed great respect for the Lady of the Lake. Merlin, the magician who guided Arthur as he grew to be a legendary knight advised him to “address her courteously, and do as she directed” (page 75). Arthur spoke very politely and she gave him the famous sword, Excaliber. In his respect for the lady, he also promised to give heany gift she wants because she presented him with the sword. Respectfulness to women was one quality knights strove for, but less specifically, a knight was expected to be courteous towards everyone. King Arthur demonstrated this characteristic while dealing with the Roman ambassadors. They asked for a tribute, and Arthur responded, “we shall no...
Each different aspect of the code of chivalry held a separate role in society. Whether it be religious or barbaric, chivalry tended to hold a moral guideline among those who followed it. This moral guideline held them true to their duties to man, God, and women (Sex, Society, and Medieval Women). All of which are reflected in the three themes of Chivalry: Warrior chivalry, religious chivalry, and courtly love chivalry (Sex, Society, and Medieval Women). These three hold their individual roles, all stimulating a different part of the mind and creating a code held by all areas of life in those who hold it. The underlying question posed in this intense pledge is whether those who took the oath lived it out accordingly. To live out Chivalry is to go against the logic of the human mind. That is a hard task. Canterbury Tales provides one example of a man fighting against the odds. The kenight portrayed in the story can be compared to that of the quarterback of a football team. That knight truly took the leadership of his role and lived out all of its responsibilities. On the other hand, in midst of the popularity, a large majority of knights truly embraced only certain aspects of the pledge of Chivalry. They used their title and their pledge to court women and gain an upper hand on everyone else around them. The corrupt behavior of these knights is why the general consensus of a knight’s success in following the pledge of Chivalry is failure. The mind of a man still finds its origin in the Social Darwinism concept of a man’s mind. This idea plays the leading role in the failure of knights in the medieval period to live out their oath of Chivalry in every aspect of this oath.
...on and/or mental health problems. Similarly, some men view their mental health as a weakness and choose to suppress their sickness; by doing so, worsening their condition. A great part of society still chooses to ignore the fact that men are susceptible. This could be a result of popular culture’s influence or mas media’s imposition but certainly it is a trend that has accompanied society for far too long. The world evolved and was able to change its view about women. Society was able to accept femininity in the workforce. Why are men still expected to be an impenetrable force of fortitude and valor? Society should reevaluate and seek to accept men’s weaknesses just as it accepted women’s strengths. This is not a call for pity; it is a call for transformation. Humanity needs to reassess what they previously associated with true manhood and masculinity and progress.
and their daily lives. This presentation of masculinity can alter how men respect women in the
In the tale that Geoffrey Chaucer had wrote, The Wife of Bath’s Tale, a man was described as a Knight. This Knight wasn’t like any normal Knight, he messed up and raped a girl. This is a big mistake, giving a lot of Knights a bad name, and having those that look up to them start to be disappointed in them. Usually the punishment that is given to those that rape, or in general any other crime, is death or time in the slammer, however, the Queen says no because he is a good looking guy. Instead of death, he had find out what women most desire from men. He is given a year and a day to find out, and on the last day, when he nearly had given up all hope, he sees an old woman in a field who makes a deal with him. The old lady gives the Knight a choice: to have an old, but faithful, wife, or to have a drop-dead gorgeous woman, but to have her never to be faithful, before she tells him what the Queen wants to know. The old lady and Knight get married and she wants him to sleep with her, like husbands are supposed to do with their wives. They argue and she gives him the two choices again; to have an ugly wife, but she is faithful. The other choice is to have a drop-dead gorgeous wife, but is never faithful. With this, he learns a lesson, and sufficient punishment.
A good, chivalric knight should hold ladies in esteem. He should do all in his power to serve and protect ladies. Perceval’s mother instructs him to never “withhold [his] aid” from a lady or a “maiden in distress” (Lawall 1333). She says that “he who does not yield honor to ladies, loses his honor” (Lawall 1333)....
Initially, the Code of Chivalry states that a Knight should be courageous, and stand up for what he believes in, no matter of the consequences. “’You are not Gawain the Glorious,’ the green man said, ‘That never fell back on field in the face of the foe, And now you flee for fear, and have felt no harm: Such news of that knight I never heard yet! I moved not a muscle when you made the strike, nor caviled at the cut in King Arthur’s house; My head fell to my feet, yet steadfast I...
Throughout the history of the world, honor has been an important part of life. In literature, as well, honor plays an important role in many plots and the development of almost any character. Shakespeare’s play Much Ado About Nothing is no exception. In this comedy about love and marriage, honor is revealed as the primary reason for many of the actions taken by several different characters. When Claudio breaks off his wedding with Hero, he does it because he believes she is not chastised as she claims to be and in being such, she would dishonor him as well as her father if the marriage were to proceed as planned. The play is an accurate depiction of the honor code and the different standards for men and women of the time in regards to honor and chastity.
With the lady, and demands of the court, the future of knights was shifted in a different direction; she demanded that a knight act with strength on one hand, and courtesy and respect on the other. A knight should respect women; he should defend them in their hour of need, shunning the magnetic gravity of mere lust. Love could be a powerful influence over a knight, a force that could propel him to greatness beyond his own abilities; the church declared that only the spiritual love of Christ was superior to the love of a woman, the important aspect here is love was added as a chivalric element.
The nexus of status, gender, and societal roles are consistently topics of interest among people, and can be found throughout the plays of William Shakespeare. More evident in their original production, however, through modern renditions and personal interpretation of readings these topics reoccur often His work dictated specific roles for men and women. Through analyzing said roles one can derive insights regarding the esteem of women and how the relative devaluing of women shaped normal gender roles. However, Shakespeare provides conflicting interpretations, dependent upon the light in which his work is read. Among the possible differing interpretations of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” stands a reoccurring argument throughout history of, men vs. women in a battle of status/power. After reading the play one could make the argument that women are inferior to their counterparts, however, at the same time, the argument could be made that women have more power than men, and both positions be considered accurate.