Besides the blatant misogyny there are many disturbing and strange things in The Knights Tale. When Lady Emily was first introduced she was a young child, Arcite and palamon had been adults for a significant period of time. Even though emily was so young, after first seeing her in the garden they both instantly decided they wanted to marry her. At that point lady Emily had NO idea they even existed. The cousins acted in both pedophilic and stalker-esque. Another disturbing instance is that Theseus, lady Emilys brother-in-law, had no problem deciding that one of the enemies he had kept locked up for years could marry Emily. Theseus declared that they could duel for her hand while she was standing right there crying, no acknowledgement consultation
Women were always viewed as weak, dependent, and powerless in the Middle Ages. Not only is it a common view during that time period, but this also is often stereotyped labeled to women today as well. In the romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the hatred of women is portrayed throughout. However, while women are certainly looked down upon, they also are influential to the knights. This romance also portrays how a woman having different characteristics, could change the way she was viewed as well. Although women in the Middle Ages appeared to lack power, the women in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight have a hidden influence over the men and actually drive the action of the medieval romance.
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales are filled with many entertaining tales from a variety of characters of different social classes and background. The first two tales told, by the knight and the miller, articulate very different perspectives of medieval life. Primarily, The tales of both the knight and the miller bring strikingly different views on the idea of female agency, and as we will discover, Chaucer himself leaves hints that he supports the more involved, independent Alison, over the paper-thin character of Emily.
One of the aspects of the Middle Ages which is explored by numerous scholars today is that of the antifeminist stereotypes which pervaded literature and cultural mores during the period. In an era governed by men, the fact that women were treated as inferior is unsurprising; archetypal visions of femininity fit neatly into medieval history. However, most people would like to believe that such pigeonholing has been left in the past, allowing for more liberated times in which women are portrayed realistically and as the equals of men.
Sir Gawain and The Green Knight is an example of medieval misogyny. Throughout Medieval literature, specifically Arthurian legends like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the female characters, Guinevere, the Lady, and Morgan leFay are not portrayed as individuals but social constructs of what a woman should be. Guinevere plays a passive woman, a mere token of Arthur. The Lady is also a tool, but has an added role of temptress and adulteress. Morgan leFay is the ultimate conniving, manipulating, woman. While the three women in this legend have a much more active role than in earlier texts, this role is not a positive one; they are not individuals but are symbols of how men of this time perceive women as passive tokens, adulteresses, and manipulators.
The center of the story revolves around the women who do nothing really. They are mere objects whose sole purpose is for love and beauty. Hippolyta and Emily, as I mentioned before, are spoils of war after their land are conquered by Theseus. The quote “He gained the realm of Femininity” (738) which as it reads is closely related to female attributes. The women are considered the weaker sex, as men are depicted as strong and brave. This proves true as Hippolyta was the Queen of the Amazons who was first conquered by Theseus’s violence and then by the title of a wife.
The Virtue of Men and Women in The Canterbury Tales People never change. In every town you will always be able to find the "rich guy," the "smart guy," the "thief," and the "chief." It has been that way since the first man was swindled out of his lunch. Throughout his life, Geoffrey Chaucer encountered every kind of person and brought them to life for us in "The Canterbury Tales," a collection of short stories written in the 1300's. There are tales of saints, tales of promiscuity, tales of fraud, and tales of love.
The journals expose two different attitudes because these two authors have different personalities. Knight is intolerant with others. When she is questioned; she makes jokes pretending not to be bother, but she does. Basically, Knight is a bright woman who likes to observe others and for that, she makes use of sarcasm to criticize, especially women’s” bad tongues,” as Julia Stern describes on “To relish and spew disgust as cultural critique in The Journal of Madam Knight” another thing, she certainly dislikes interrogation, mainly because she is from Boston and well educated, so she has a refined background, and has trouble dealing with rural people. She believes that Bostonians are better and for that, she perceives herself, as superior in class
Sexism is an ever changing concept in today’s world. Every day the concept morphs a little bit, changing the entire definition of what is sexist and what is not. In The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare, the male characters lie to and abuse their women in order to have the women marry them. Lucentio come to Padua to study, but when he sees a beautiful girl, he pretends to be a teacher in order to marry Bianca. Petruchio on the other hand forces a woman to marry him and then trains her to follow his every command. Although the The Taming of the Shrew is frequently regarded as a particularly sexist play, it is not sexist and demeaning towards women.
The concept and perception of gender has changed radically from Shakespeare’s time to now, yet the perceptions of women and the limitations placed on them remain shockingly similar. William Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy, Macbeth, addresses gender concerns and the role of women in power positions. The play was written for King James VI of Scotland and I of England as he took the throne during a transitional period in the country’s history. The succession of King James marked the long-desired transition from a matriarchy to a patriarchy. Considering the historical context and Shakespeare’s affinity for King James, some Shakespearean critics hold Lady Macbeth responsible for the political, moral, and personal destruction in the play, as well
Women have always been the backbone of human civilization, whether it be in ancient times or even in the modern era. However, they are oppressed and not given the same fundamental, human rights as men, like access to education, leaving this discrimination and sexism to span over prolonged periods of time. Specifically, sexism is seen during the Elizabethan Era of history when William Shakespeare writes his prominent dramatic piece, Macbeth. In Shakespeare’s tragedy, the prevalent theme of sexism is depicted in the play when Lady Macbeth, a character of strength and ambition, is shown as manipulative and inevitably weak when Shakespeare portrays her eventual downfall and suicide. Throughout the world today, the many different forms of sexism
Celebrated English playwright William Shakespeare is arguably as renowned for his myriad magnetic, mesmeric characters as he is for writing the stunning plays that star them. From Twelfth Night’s charming heroine Viola to sinister Othello villain Iago, Shakespeare can be and is often credited with the invention of the most eclectic collection of characters ever crafted by a single writer. It is often taken for granted that this collection includes a subset of fascinating ancillary characters, but it should be noted that for every Hamlet, Shakespeare has also written a Laertes, and for every Desdemona, a Bianca, where each minor player is as intriguing – and, often, as pivotal to the progression of the play’s overarching plot – as their more
Chivalry, or the code of conduct that the Knights of out past used to justify their actions, towards country and state. It is greatly expressed in the stories that were passed down orally and written down, but these traits were many, including: Courage, Honor, and the treatment of women. These three traits are discussed wholly throughout the tales of King Arthur’s day, because like the Anglo-Saxon Code it was the basis of how a man should act throughout his life. Knights held by this code throughout their lives and were told in the stories hence, with these lines Sir Gawain did prove himself of his knightly hood, “Gawain by Guenevere Toward the king doth now incline: ‘I beseech, before all here, That this melee may be mine.” (Page 174 Lines 113-116). Knightly hood became the populous’ view of how a man should act in any situation that bequeathed him, which is still in use today, just not in the same context. Death is not a punishment for those people who don’t follow through the code. Overall Chivalry is the concept that every young man should live by, for even though it was thought up millenniums ago, it has just the same relevancy of the laws and codes that people today live by.
“All for one, and one for all," the motto of the King's Musketeers in the Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, is a slogan that the four main male characters follow in their everyday lives. However, whenever a woman is concerned, each male character attempts to place the woman’s honor above his own, due to the thought that a woman needs more protection than a man does. Privately, each character shares the opinion that women are the weaker gender of the human race. Although not the most prevalent theme in the novel, this theme subtly appears throughout the dialogue of the male characters, in many points throughout the story.
Gender Issues in William Shakespeare's Macbeth In Macbeth there are some issues that show us that at the time William Shakespeare wrote, women were treated in a much inferior way than men. "For brave Macbeth- well he deserves that name- disdaining fortune, with his brandish steel, which smoked bloody execution" (I.2.16) This quote proves that men are seen as more important than women. It's taken from the start of the play, said by the captain at the battle.
I found the discussion of how women are the more evil part of the two sexes very true. The story of Adam and Eve is an example of how women are the more evil part of the two sexes. Eve offered the forbidden fruit to Adam and therefore they got kicked out of Garden of Eden. Adam did not want to take the forbidden fruit but Eve was evil and more daring because there were two people to commit the sin. If Adam did not exist and Eve was by herself, she probably would not have taken the forbidden fruit. Eve might have thought about taking the forbidden fruit but would probably be too afraid to actually take action. The reason for this is that if God were to yell at the two, God would probably yell at Adam first then Eve so Eve would not really be afraid because the punishments would be more severe on Adam (not stating the fact that God knows everything). Women are always known to be gentle and fearful so if there were two people that committed a sin, the male would be questioned first. The plot of Macbeth is very similar to the plot of Adam and Eve. Macbeth and his spouse also wanted to commit a sin. They wanted to kill the king to gain the crown for Macbeth and the position of a queen for Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth wanted this more than Macbeth because she wanted to be queen very badly. Her ambition drove her to do this and she pressured Macbeth into helping her with this evil deed. She did not have a close relationship with the king like Macbeth but the only reason she had a bit of a hesitation when coming to kill the king was the fact that the king looked like her father. She took advantage of the environment, meaning that Macbeth was well respected and very close to being king. She also took the advantage of her being a woman. She knew that no one would expect her to be a murderer because women are not seen to be violent but gentle. The evilness and the thought of murder were not created by Macbeth but actually by Lady Macbeth. She was not really as scared as Macbeth because she knew that she did not have to actually murder the king but just plan it out.