Marguerite Needs To Undermine The Medieval Social Norm

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“Marguerite needs to undermine the medieval social norms for a woman in order to develop as a person and a ruler.”

‘A sword in my hand’ is a story based on the real life person Marguerite van Male. Marguerite, an heir to the throne of Flanders is a woman of royalty that is restricted in her ability to fill her full potential based on medieval society’s requirements in regard to being a woman. She challenges the medieval norms for a woman in order to develop as a person and a ruler by learning to swordfight, talking back to important figures and refusing to marry the man of her father’s choice.

Learning to swordfight helps Marguerite undermine the medieval social norms in order for her to develop as a person and a ruler. For instance, Marguerite …show more content…

For example, Marguerite when paired with Edmund for marriage immediately declines and refuses to do so. Though this causes upset and a divided room of important figures she decides to take it into her own hands and refuses to eat until she does not have to marry Edmund. ‘I’ll stand firm. He won’t break me. And everything goes black. I faint against my father’s chest.’ (page 147). She is then told she is ought to marry Edmund. She sends a letter to the pope which cancels the wedding as they are actually blood relatives. She then tells her father the news. “My Father doesn’t say anything. He turns around. I take a step back, afraid he’s going to knock me down with the flat of his hand, like that time after our prank at the windmill. But he doesn’t.”(page 210) Marguerite undermined the medieval social norms by sticking by what she believed in, disagreeing and showing her father that she did not want to marry Edmund. These were unusual and not acceptable acts for a girl towards their father in medieval times. These actions help her to become a stronger person and ruler. She develops leadership skills, problem solving skills and also helps her to not be answerable to Edmund, so also affecting her freedom and independence. These findings suggest that Marguerite undermined the social norms for a woman by using her now advanced problem solving skills, helping her develop her leadership skills and understanding her sense of

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