The Transforming of Women in Medieval Literature Essay Example for Free

The Transforming of Women in Medieval Literature Essay Over the countless years of history man and woman have realized that they must come together in order to survive. Whether it was solely for the continuation of our race through procreation, or by uniting one with another in matrimony; the two genders have found it impediment to spend their lives in each other’s midst. Over the span of several millennia we not only see the evolution of these relationships, but we can also witness the transformation of the roles each gender plays in everyday life. One such period where we see many of these roles evolving occur is chronicled in Medieval Literature. Writings such including Chaucer’s â€Å"The Canterbury Tales† and many Arthurian Legends present women and their treatment by their male counterparts in a ways uncommon to earlier writings. One of the best representations of such thinking is found in â€Å"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. † The text includes women of varying types and gives an excellent paradigm to the changing culture of the Medieval Era. At the genesis of the tale we are presented with the ideal medieval lady. The narrator describes Queen Guenevere’s immense beauty and states that â€Å"fair queen, without a flaw†¦ A seemlier that once he saw, / In truth no man could say† (81-84). Guenevere serves as an example of the prior period’s typical woman. She is quiet, obedient to her husband, and the attractive object of the male gaze. Previously this was the norm for woman, to be confined to a set of restrictions that kept her inferior to all other men. Compared to Chaucer’s Wife of Bath who is loud, assertive, and extremely sexually open, Guenevere knows her roles and offers little complaint of her place in the castle. The lack of her contention exemplifies the base portrayal of a woman’s traditional position. The next female we come across in the journey of Gawain is Bertilak’s wife. At the first moment of meeting the lovely lady, we are presented with the fact that she is of a different breed than Guenevere. As she enters the room, Gawain’s mind wanders, â€Å"her body and her bearing were beyond praise, / And excelled the queen herself† (944-945). Here a knight admits the greatness of a lady beyond his own queen. This reveals the higher complexity found in the lady of the castle. Where we see the deepening contrasts is in the lady’s actual description. Whereas Guenevere was praised for solely her beauty and carriage, we see depth beyond this in the description of Bertilak’s wife. In lines 1204-1207, we read, â€Å"sweetly she does speak / And kindling glances dart, / Blent white and red on cheek / And laughing lips apart,† a noticeably more sexualized description than the one offered for our former lady. Delving even deeper into the story we read her actions as exceedingly daring for the wife. She wanders into the room of the night herself to seduce him for a kiss. In this time period women made no attempt at such provocation of a man’s lustful desires. Now one may point out that the lady was under orders from Bertilak. What I see is the man counting his wife as equal and including her in his plan to trick Gawain. Either case we see a woman who enjoys the confines of being a lady yet at the same time the freedoms of equality. In this we see more of a modern woman. She is developed more complexly in that she is neither completely virtuous yet neither is she corrupt. Finally we have one last woman; one whom tears down all the conceptions of the conventional feminine roles of the time. Gawain’s Aunt Morgan la Faye is the magical temptress who devises the plan to test her worthy nephew. La Faye is the ultimate foil of our first character and an extreme version of the second. She has no husband and nor any other male too hold her to the constraints of society. She is able to use her powerful skills to do as she pleases and cause any amount of mayhem she sees fit. For example we find out at the end of the tale the old lady accompanying Bertialk’s wife is indeed Morgan la Faye in disguise. Morgan though she is extremely beautiful and young in her true form, stands for the free unconfined woman. Women across time have continually had to deal with confining gender roles. Yet in ever period there have been women who redefined the roles and pushed to break the trends stressed upon them. This condition is reflected by the writers of the time. From their efforts we are able to see the transformation and how the human condition has been affected. The poet who penned †Sir Gawain and the Green Knight† was able to cleverly weave this into the tale. From the examples of Guenevere’s demure attitude, to Lady Bertilak’s seductive ways, and finally ending with Morgan la Faye’s free and chaotic spirit; this paradigm is clearer in the middle ages than many others. Woman made great strides in the era of chivalry and began to break free of the bonds that contained them.