A Comparison of Sei Shonagon and Marie de France
Though more than two hundred years have separated Sei Shonagon and Marie de France, the scene is much the same. A courtly lady sits in a candle-lit room, with her writing hand poised above a book of parchment. Her face brightens in an instant of inspiration and she scribbles furiously onto the paper. This woman is closely associated with the royal court and is something of an anachronism, a woman author in a male-dominated world. The scene pictured here could have taken place in either Shonagon's late tenth century Japan or the twelfth century France of Marie de France. The differences that exist between these two authors are a result of their differing cultures and personalities. Marie de France writes as a product of her time, expressing herself through her characters, while keeping in mind the mandates of the church. Sei Shonagon is ruled by no such mandates and as a result wrote with merciless honesty. Accordingly, the structure, diction and imagery used by each author reflects her own distinct personality and values.
Sei Shonagon is most well known for her Pillow Book, a collection of her personal thoughts and observations during her time at court. The structure, or lack thereof, in this work gives the reader a peek at Shonagon's personality. She writes in short bursts, giving the mini-chapters such titles as "The Sliding Screen in the Back of the Hall," "Hateful Things," and "Oxen Should Have Very Small Foreheads." The titles are representative of her tendency to write at length on subjects that may seem inconsequential, or as the author admits in the last segment of the Pillow Book, "most trivial." In fact, these so-called trivial observations provide a s...
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...es and cultures. One author is governed by her strict faith and adherence to the church, the other by her own strongly-held opinions. Each woman's writing clearly reflects her own distinct personality and temperament: Marie de France, more eager and spiritual, Sei Shonagon, more satirical and opinionated. Both courtly ladies seem faithful to their own beliefs and reflective of their time and culture.
Works Cited
Sei Shonagon. The Pillow Book. Trans. Richard Bowring. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Expanded Edition. Ed. Maynard Mack. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. 1995. 2191-2218. All quotations are from this text.
De France, Marie. "Eliduc". Trans. John Fowles. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Expanded Edition. Ed. Maynard Mack. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. 1995. 1680-1692. All quotations are from this text.
...ths of the sixteenth century. Yes, women of that time and place left a very light mark on history. Eventually, the story the book tells spirals down into just some nasty courtroom feuds among family members. The story provides a driving narrative that brings into intimate contact disparate kinds that are still prevalent today. And the conclusion drawn from Anna's actions and reactions may surprise. In both everyday life and in times of crisis, women in the twenty first century has access to effective personal and legal resources.
Lawall, Sarah and Maynard Mack, Eds. _The Norton Anthology of world masterpieces: The Western Traditions_. New York. 1999.
Traditional female characteristics and female unrest are underscored in literary works of the Middle Ages. Although patriarchal views were firmly established back then, traces of female contempt for such beliefs could be found in several popular literary works. Female characters’ opposition to societal norms serves to create humor and wish- fulfillment for female and male audiences to enjoy. “Lanval” by Marie De France and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” by Geoffrey Chaucer both show subversion of patriarchal attitudes by displaying the women in the text as superior or equal to the men. However, “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” also incorporates conventional societal ideas by including degradation of women and mistreatment of a wife by her husband.
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Taylor, Lily “The Rise of Julius Caesar” Cambridge University Press Second Series, Vol.4 March 1957 pp. 10-18 Web www.jstor.com May 4, 2014
5. Howe, Helen, and Robert T. Howe. From the Ancient and Medieval Worlds. N.p.: Longman, 1992. Print.
In the Middle Ages, the roles of women became less restricted and confined and women became more opinionated and vocal. Sir Gawain and The Green Knight presents Lady Bertilak, the wife of Sir Bertilak, as a woman who seems to possess some supernatural powers who seduces Sir Gawain, and Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath Prologue and Tale, present women who are determined to have power and gain sovereignty over the men in their lives. The female characters are very openly sensual and honest about their wants and desires. It is true that it is Morgan the Fay who is pulling the strings in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; nevertheless the Gawain poet still gives her a role that empowers her. Alison in The Wife if Bath Prologue represents the voice of feminism and paves the way for a discourse in the relationships between husbands and wives and the role of the woman in society.
Howe, Helen, and Robert T. Howe. A World History: Ancient and Medieval Worlds. Volume 1. White Plains, NY: Longman, 1992. 533.
agrees to lend the money on the basis that if the 3,000 ducats are not
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Damrosch, David, and David Pike. The Longman Anthology of World Literature. The Ancient World. Volume A. Second Edition. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2009. Pgs. .656-691. Print.
Esteemed members of the Board, in this report I intend to convincingly show you that the borders in question absolutely need to be redrawn. The borders I speak of are those of the British oppression of Northern Ireland. For years upon years the British have possessed political control over the people of Northern Ireland. I will make it obvious to you that the strong Catholic religion throughout Northern Ireland has forced the people to oppose British control. As most of you know, the official and majority religion of Great Britain is that of Protestantism. And the deeply faithful Irish have always felt that they were looked down upon by the British for refusing to practice their form of Christianity. But, we will discuss this later as the current issue is that of the culture of the people of Ireland. My argument is that the Irish culture is the same throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is currently under British control. Because the Irish people share the same culture and the same geographic area, being located on the small island, they deserve and are justly due to have their entire country reunited. I feel that the British must cede Northern Ireland back to the Irish people to reunite the full country.
Works Cited Duiker, William J., and Jackson J. Spielvogel. World History. 6 th. -. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Pub Co, 2010. print.