An Inquiry Into Femininity: Women in Medieval Epics

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In the past of humanity, women's status have always been ambigious. Either they were worshipped as goddesses or despised as unworthy workers. In this research I will analyze closely what it means to be a female in our age and in medieval period by means of two sagas: The Saga of The Volsungs and The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki. In history, the role and status of women have fluctuated incredibly. At first, matriarchy was dominant in Greece and other realms. Women who are like mother earth and nature were the idols of fertility. They symbolized both beautiful and fertile side of nature. But after monotheist patriarchal religions began to dominate, the women lost their high times and treated as second creatures of nature on which Engels commented that it was the historical defeat of women-kind. This mistreatment was so violent that women are equally treated with satan in religious stories. Afterall, the word `Eve' comes from `Heva' in Hebrew. After Eve's seduction, all sins belonged to her and her kind . Because they were the redlection of men's lusts and vices on the mirror. Whenever men looked at them, they saw their feeble and lustful sides. Thus to be purified of these, in history, they ceaselessly made women their own scapegoats. A women can give birth to a male but the male cannot give any right to her in exchange of his life. Actually the women kind is so sensitive and vulnerable that they do not even attemt to extort what should be given. Still men are indebted something to all women. That is `respect' for all over the world. Ýf ever this is to be attained, the women will serve a better world to all men kind. The most notable assertion against the role of women is put forward by Darwin who claims that women are infe... ... middle of paper ... ...h and sublime power than the kings have. In both sagas, to be a woman is in the same meaning with having veneration and guideliness. They function two missions as being both mothers and rulers of their countries. Women are reflected braver than they are in our time. They have self confidence in all matters. It seems to me that in the age of Volsungs and Hrolf Kraki, women are absolutely more women than they are in our time. Since sublime femininity mainly comprises of veneration, self-confidence, sensitivity and decisiveness. While the first two is missing in our century, women can be identified as less women. Related to Oscar Wilde's saying, sometimes others' experiences makes or unmakes a character. That is respect in past that determines identity. The women will always be in the arrest of their full identity cards till this experince by man make their character.

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