Gender Roles In 'Lanval' By Geoffrey Chaucer

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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. In …show more content…

“Lanval” was written by a female poet and therefore enlists a somewhat feminist perspective on the idea of patriarchy. In this poem, a beautiful woman asks a knight to keep their love a secret: “I command and beg you, do not let any man know about this. I shall tell you why: you would lose me for good” (144-46), and “He answered that he would do exactly as she commanded” (151-52). Here, the gender roles are swapped and the female figure holds the social power to command instead of the male, clearly subverting patriarchy. In a patriarchal theme, the knight would command the woman and she would obey his command without hesitation. The same idea can be seen when the Queen asks the King to punish Lanval after she claims that he insulted her. She said she would never “get up unless the king gave her satisfaction for the offense against her” (301-10), and the king obeyed her, deciding to hold a trial. If this text were patriarchal, the King would have punished Lanval on his own terms rather than doing it for the Queen. It seems as if the Queen is being treated as an equal ruler to the King by being allowed to hold the political power in this

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