Marguerite Needs To Undermine The Medieval Social Norm

“Marguerite needs to undermine the medieval social norms for a woman in order to develop as a person and a ruler.”

‘A sword in my hand’ is a story based on the real life person Marguerite van Male. Marguerite, an heir to the throne of Flanders is a woman of royalty that is restricted in her ability to fill her full potential based on medieval society’s requirements in regard to being a woman. She challenges the medieval norms for a woman in order to develop as a person and a ruler by learning to swordfight, talking back to important figures and refusing to marry the man of her father’s choice.

Learning to swordfight helps Marguerite undermine the medieval social norms in order for her to develop as a person and a ruler. For instance, Marguerite

goes against the medieval norms for a woman and visits Andrea Tagilferro and convinces him to teach her to swordfight. Instead of staying at home and learning to sew, make art and lace she ventures out each morning to learn h. ‘It’s rather unusual for a lady in a long black coat to venture on the streets on her own.’ p127 Learning to sword fight helps Marguerite undermine the social norms as she participates in a sport only restricted to male leaders. She shows that she is just as capable and develops her leadership skills, gains strength and learns to think on her feet. ‘in any fight, you must be able to control the heart. You must be able to bring love and hate in balance and, particularly not to mistake one for the other.’ P- 187. These ideas suggest that Marguerite undermined the medieval norms which helped her to develop as a leader and teaches her to think on her feet.

Marguerite expressing her opinion and talking back to important figures helps her to undermine the medieval social norms for a woman in order to develop as a person and as a ruler. For example, Marguerite talks back when shamed for being born a girl instead of a boy by her father. Her father the count wishes for a son to be the next ruler in line but after Marguerites brother dies he is left with only with a daughter. He believes that she will not be able to rule Flanders after his passing “ I’m not a creature, I am your daughter”.- Marguerite Pg 39. She talks back to important and highly regarded men of Flanders and is not afraid to express her opinion. “if she were of common decent ,’Akerman adds “she would have long since been put on show in the market place wearing a muzzle, like a scold” ‘ but I’m not of common decent ,’I shout stepping from the shadows. - Pg 223
Marguerite expressing her opinion and talking back to people of high importance helps her to undermine the medieval social norms by helping her to develop her skills as a leader, learning to stand up for herself, her beliefs and that her actions can have consequences.
These findings suggest that Marguerite undermined the social norms for a woman by expressing her opinions which has taught her to stand up for what she believes in and has helped develop her leadership skills.

Refusing to marry Edmund helps Marguerite undermine the medieval social norms for a woman in order for her to develop as a person and a ruler.

For example, Marguerite when paired with Edmund for marriage immediately declines and refuses to do so. Though this causes upset and a divided room of important figures she decides to take it into her own hands and refuses to eat until she does not have to marry Edmund. ‘I’ll stand firm. He won’t break me. And everything goes black. I faint against my father’s chest.’ (page 147). She is then told she is ought to marry Edmund. She sends a letter to the pope which cancels the wedding as they are actually blood relatives. She then tells her father the news. “My Father doesn’t say anything. He turns around. I take a step back, afraid he’s going to knock me down with the flat of his hand, like that time after our prank at the windmill. But he doesn’t.”(page 210) Marguerite undermined the medieval social norms by sticking by what she believed in, disagreeing and showing her father that she did not want to marry Edmund. These were unusual and not acceptable acts for a girl towards their father in medieval times. These actions help her to become a stronger person and ruler. She develops leadership skills, problem solving skills and also helps her to not be answerable to Edmund, so also affecting her freedom and independence. These findings suggest that Marguerite undermined the social norms for a woman by using her now advanced problem solving skills, helping her develop her leadership skills and understanding her sense of

freedom.

In conclusion, medieval social norms in the 1300s where undermined and challenged by Marguerite. Learning to sword fight, expressing her opinion and refusing to marry the man of her father’s choice were all unusual acts of a women in those times. Marguerite learnt leadership, problem solving skills, to stand up for what she believed in and much more. Overall, these events contributed to her developing as a person, woman, ruler and assisted her into growing immensely as a person.