Gender Roles In King Arthur's Knights Of The Round Table

What All Humans Share Unconsciously

All humans from anywhere in the world and from any period of time share the same unconscious ideas; called collective unconscious which is a theory developed by Carl Jung. In the book of King Arthur we have tales, stories and characters that all represent a certain archetypal lesson, and these lessons are the collective unconscious. The story of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table fits the model as a universal story of mankind because the story explores ideas shared by all humankind.

First, love is explored as a universal theme. Throughout the book, love is mentioned and it’s viewed to be a universal theme because every human being views the idea of love the same way. King Arthur sees Guinevere

once and he immediately falls in love with her. Arthur’s words about how Guinevere is the “...fairest, sweetest, loveliest and purest maiden in all the world.” (page 52) gives humans an illustration of what love looks like, and they would all have the same image as well. Launcelot and Guinevere's love serve as another example of how love is a universal theme to all humankind. Their love was a “sinful love” (pg, 340) but nonetheless their love showed a great example of forbidden love to humans. When humans think about forbidden love, they immediately think of a woman who is taken and the best friend of her man loving her. Therefore, this book conveys an excellent idea of love that is shared by all human kinds.
Secondly, the book goes through gender expectations as a universal theme to all humankind.

Although the book is predominantly focused on males, both genders play an important role in the book. Gender roles are viewed as a universal theme because humans view each gender differently, despite the gender equality. When a little boy falls and cries, his parents scold him into acting more tough, like a man. However, it differs for girls for they are meant to be sensitive. Humans do not know why they think such way even after knowing that women are sometimes tougher than man, but they still give that kind of archetype. Men are expected to act more chivalrous, following the code of ethics. Even King Arthur secured chivalry within the people that follow him by “...bade[ing] all his knights [to] try, each in turn, to” (pg. 118) renew their vows. Whereas, women are fought for because men are expected to be more strong. Geraint wants to “ride and speak with [the dwarf himself]” (pg 193) just to fight for the damsel for she is viewed weak and she “[sobbed] bitterly” (pg 193). In that sequence, this book illustrates a lot of collective unconscious about gender

roles.
Last but not least, heroism is another illustration in the human mind that is shared by everyone.

Any human being who thinks about a hero, they immediately have the same mental images of what a hero is. The mental image of a hero is someone who is strong, and who fights for the good; King Arthur portrays that perfectly. King Arthur is “the best of all knights”, “the greatest king this land shall ever know” (page 12). Due to all that, he falls directly into the heroism category which makes every human being who reads about him, think the same thing unconsciously. When people read about Sir Launcelot, at first they believe him to be a noble knight which makes him a hero. Sir Launcelot is a “worthy” (page 116), and king Arthur “trust[s] the high honour of…” Launcelot (page 260). Therefore, Launcelot portrays trust and being worthy, like any other hero. Humankind think of a hero as a person who is tough, trustworthy compassionate and cares for their people. King Arthur book clearly explores that theme, throughout the

story.
In conclusion, the collective unconscious theory serves the book King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table justice for it clearly portrays the universal themes of love, gender expectations (roles) and heroism. As mentioned in the previous chapters, every human being has the same unconscious thoughts which are called archetypes. In this book, it clearly shows the archetypes that are shared by all mankind; by the various characters. Each character and story has it’s own archetypes, and those three universal themes are just few of the many.