It is in inarguable that some of Tolkien’s more well-known works contain an obvious lack of female characters. However, his pre-Hobbit mythologies do contain various memorable women. Still true though, is Tolkien’s insistence on constructing females that radiate pureness and perfection, usually possessing ethereal beauty, with little to no exceptions other than Ancalime. His heroines typically fall into one of three feminine archetypes derived from classic medieval literature and fairy tales. These are that of the Fairy Bride, the Good Witch, and the Shield Maiden. He makes many deliberate choices in writing female characters that seem to confine women into two-dimensional stereotypes. The obvious example of a Fairy Bride is Arwen and Aragorn. However, I prefer using the example of Luthien and Beren. Luthien is the prize of a heroic quest; Beren must steal a Silmaril for Luthien’s father. Luthien being the object of a love quest and providing the reason for Beren’s heroic adventure greatly correlates with classical mythology. Not to mention, her father has imprisoned her in a treehouse; much like the common occurrence of princesses being …show more content…
These women are human girls who, scorning domesticity and female tasks, take up the warrior life. Disguising herself as a man and running off into battle after being forbidden to do so is also a feat found commonly in Germanic myths of shieldmaidens and Valkyries. Her story also strongly resonates with Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Macbeth is told that he cannot be harmed by a man born of a woman. However, Macduff was not born from his mother and is therefore able to kill Macbeth. When Eowyn attacks the Witch-King, he claims he cannot be killed by any living man. Eowyn reveals herself to be a woman and ends up killing the Witch-King with Merry’s help. Clearly, Eowyn’s character has a strong foundation from myth and other classical
Due to the negative relationship to nature and the supernatural in Arthur’s court, this description implies that women are similarly beholden to the perception and whims of men. Moreover, Gawain’s final diatribe – in which he attributes male moral failings to women – insinuates that empowered women are to be feared. The fact that this diatribe does not result in Gawain’s realisation that his role as Morgan le Fay’s pawn has relegated him to a feminised secondary role (Heng, “Feminine Knots” 501), further emphasises the Medieval idea of women being innately
Chivalric romances are often centered upon the efforts of gallant knights seeking to achieve a concept known as “true knighthood” which involves embarking on quests or adventures to obtain honor, love, and Christian virtue. The brave knights of these stories are met with many obstacles to overcome, commonly in regards to rescuing or protecting a lady. In other words, the typical role of women in this period is that of the damsel in distress or a helpless, dependent lady in need of a hero. However, the stories of Chrétien de Troyes’ Yvain, the Knight of the Lion and Friedrich Heinrich Karl La Motte-Fouqué’s The Magic Ring strays from the typical role of women as the damsel in distress.
The overarching role of women as givers of knowledge of life is most apparent in these capacities, since it is here that their advice and wisdom is most likely to be heeded. The best example of this is when young Ewain is taught how to be a great knight by Lady Lyne. He had studied much under the tutelage of men, but there was more still that he needed to know in order to become a fully developed man. Lady Lyne not only taught him how to fight and ride well, she also taught him how to work hard without complaining, how to make wise decisions, and what the future held for him and for the ways of warfare. The very necessity of having a mother-figure or guide is also apparent in Lancelot’s story; his attraction to Guinevere partially stems from the fact that she bears a certain likeness to his deceased mother and when he is captured by the four sorceress queens, one of the four temptations presented to him is that of having a mother figure in his life again.
The origins of fairy stories are as ancient as language itself. In the “On Fairy Stories”, J.R.R. Tolkien attempts to provide answers to the questions that the
Before the act of courtly love, or l 'amour courtois, became a ceremonial procedure, it existed as a literary genre. As true of any excessively romantic tale produced in the realm of modern entertainment, these historic publications were written for audiences consisting largely of women--specifically the queen, duchess, or countess and the women of her court. Therefore, to appeal to the feminine audience of the courts, these romances were composed around the progressively active role of women. Rather than being portrayed as “cup-bearers” and “peace-weavers,” or domestic housekeepers and political pawns, as is their status in Beowulf, women became the idealized personification of virtue.
In Margaret Atwood’s poem “There Was Once”, Atwood uses irony to point out the societal problems within the genre of fairy tales. Charles Perrault, the author of the short story “The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood”, writes about fantastic creatures, magic, and love, following the generic conventions of fairy tales. When compared to Perrault’s short story “The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood”, Atwood’s poem both compliments and contrasts Perrault’s. These two texts, although similar, offer different views on the genre of fairy tales. Margaret Atwood’s satirical poem, “There Was Once”, aims to disrupt the generic conventions of a traditional fairy tale.
Lady (of) Macbeth In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the presence of power declares a condition where gender holds a superior position to that of political status. Overcome with murderous rage, Lady Macbeth’s refusal of her gender identity, “Unsex me here,/ and fill me...
Beowulf is an excellent piece with a lot for the readers to desire and relate to while reading. This analysis explores different escapades while examining the role of women in the literature. One thing to point out is that female characters have always received very thin attention in different pieces of literature, something that has always made many people think that their role is meager. Every piece of literature has an important message to pass across to its intended audiences. Indeed, this study seeks to demystify the male-centric mindset to promote the visibility of women in the contemporary interpretation of literary works demonstrating that women play a greater role in the literature despite the proximity given to male protagonist.
In “The Knight’s Tale” and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale,” Chaucer provides two manifestations of a medieval romance. Emily appears as an object of desire for Arcite and a paramour for Palamon. In contrast, Alisoun has dominion over men and feels as though women should retain sovereign power. In looking at “The Knight’s Tale” and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale,” one must examine instances which demonstrate the relationship between men and women, which suggest men’s lustful desire, and instances where women have dominion and the outcomes, which suggest women’s prudence in regards to dealing with men. One will find that although some may believe that men do not have lustful desires, and when a man has power a fine outcome will occur as a result, various
Beowulf and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” are both narratives in which gender acts as an important theme within their individual communities; both have underlying meanings when it comes to defining what the role men and women in a good community should be. Or in other words, both stories paint a vivid picture of the role of women during the medieval time period, by suggesting that one gender had more power over another. However, these two narratives take alternative paths when expressing their views; Beowulf conveys its message through what is missing, while “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” incorporates satire and uses explicit narrative when telling the experience of a woman that is highly different from other women in her time. Furthermore, another difference that is appealing to the reader’s eyes, besides the way the two narratives reflect to women’s role in medieval times, is that men become the hero in Beowulf, while “the wife”, so a woman, becomes the authority figure in the story of “The Wife of Bath’s Tale.” I want to first introduce the two main differences between the two narratives and then I will explain how regardless of the differences, both of these narratives’ main goal is to show that women had less power and a good community back that time was male dominated.
In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, the protagonist desperately tries to live up to the image of a man that his society portrays. The search for his manhood leads him to violent acts that inevitably get him killed. In this tragedy, male and female roles are constantly discussed and defined. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth equate masculinity to violence and aggression. They both believe that in order to be a real man, then a man must perform violent acts when necessary.
Throughout Beowulf, within the film and the text, women are portrayed as possessions for the benefit of the men. Furthermore, women are used as devices to further the plot of men in both the film and poem. Yet, in the text, women are less prevalent to the story, their presence secondary to the men. Women are more sexualized in the movie than the poem, yet they also assume more authority over the men and have more developed characters. While the gender roles were historically accurate throughout the book, women subservient to men, the movie afforded women more dominant and involved roles.
The existence of fairy tales have been around for years, throughout the years there have been many interpretations and retells of the stories, an example is Little Red Riding Hood, this traditional fairy tale is one known in different forms. Overall Little Red Riding Hood’s topic in most of the retells is to listen to parents, since they know best. In Grimm’s version, “Little Red Cap”, the theme is about the loss of childhood innocence, obeying parents, as well as being cautious with one 's surroundings. Meanwhile, Angela Carter’s feminist version of the film “The Company of Wolves”, is about the loss of sexual innocence. Although there are many details within both the film and the story that are relatively the same, there are also aspects that show the difference in both female protagonists.
Numerous schools of criticisms have attempted to find the meaning behind most of our favorite childhood stories. From Marxist who pursue the idea of social classes portrayed in literary works, to Psychoanalysts who depict the sexual tensions and desires that are subconsciously embedded behind characters’ motives and actions, to Historicists who try to show the preservation of tradition in stories, many different concepts exist for each fairy tale. The Feminist school of criticism greatly focuses on unveiling the patriarchal system and sexist roles that are displayed in stories, and more specifically, fairytales. Four versions of the well-known fairytale of The Little Mermaid will be compared and discussed while focusing on many distinctive
For example, Lady Macbeth wishes to be a man in order to commit a dark deed which took courage and strength. Lady Macbeth’s unorthodox request is evident in act 1 scene 5 as she vividly states “Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty.” Lady Macbeth clearly demonstrates her feelings thoughts on what it takes to commit an act of such nature as she calls on spirits to turn her into a man. This also shows that women on the other hand were not capable of doing deeds such as murder as they were too soft.