The Black Arrow Essay

Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel The Black Arrow depicts the life of Richard Shelton, a man on a quest to rescue his lady, obtain justice for his father’s death, and become a knight. The book takes place during the War of the Roses and spans from May of 1460 to January of 1461. Richard and his companions venture through and around medieval England which at the time is under the reign of Old King Henry VI. After an ambush on Sir Daniel Brackley from the outlaw fellowship known as the Black Arrow, a poem is posted to explain the attack. This poem makes Richard, a ward of Sir Daniel; question the death of his father. While on an errand for Sir Daniel, Richard encounters a fugitive named Joanna Sedley dressed as a boy under the alias John Matcham.

Historians commonly agree that while marriage limits a woman’s social mobility, it greatly increases a woman’s status, grants them security, and provides them an important role in the family (Frassetto 401). For example, a married woman’s status will usually increase since women tend to be married to men of a higher status. Also, a married woman’s life is much more secure than an unmarried woman’s life because they have a man providing for them(St. Augustin). But, in The Black Arrow, most women dread marriage. For example, when explaining her situation to Richard, Joanna says, “So here was I, poor babe, with two great and rich men fighting which should marry me, and I still at nurse!... and from then to now it went on ill betwixt the two of them, and I living in a state of misery”(Stevenson 129). This quote expresses Joanna’s negative attitude towards having two extremely wealthy men fight over her hand in marriage. Joanna completely disregards all that she would gain from marrying a man of high status, like wealth, land, and power. This unrealistic depiction of women's attitude towards marriage shows that Robert Louis Stevenson inaccurately portrays marriage’s effects on women’s status and women’s role in marriage in The Black