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Representations of Female Agency in Medieval French Literature Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 4-28-2021 Representations of Female Agency in Medieval French Literature Mathilde Pointiere Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the European Languages and Societies Commons, French and Francophone Language and Literature Commons, Medieval Studies Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons Recommended Citation Pointiere, Mathilde, "Representations of Female Agency in Medieval French Literature" (2021). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 5523. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/5523 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. REPRESENTATIONS OF FEMALE AGENCY IN MEDIEVAL FRENCH LITERATURE A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of French by Mathilde Pointière B.A., Université de Poitiers, 2013 M.A., University of Oregon, 2015 May 2021 I dedicate this dissertation to my mother, who gave me the tools to become the strong and independent person I am today. ii behind every strong woman is a story that gave her no choice. Nakeia Homer iii Acknowledgments I would like to express my gratitude to Kate Jensen, who was my first contact at Louisiana State University and has been a supportive presence ever since. She generously offered to become my advisor in a time of crisis and has provided invaluable guidance ever since. I enjoyed every class and conversation and will remember them to model my own teaching. I also want to thank my committee: Jeff Leichman, Rick Godden, and Maribel Dietz, who offered essential insights and suggestions. My thanks go to the faculty of the Department of French for all the knowledge and insights they shared, helping me develop as a scholar and a teacher. I am particularly thankful for Cathy Luquette and Marion Crackower, whose patience allowed me to develop many skills, as well as for Kevin Bongiorni, who made it possible for me to teach in a new setting. I also thank Rosemary Peters, who always opened her door and offered advice and kind words when they were truly needed. I am grateful for the Department as a whole, for all the opportunities I was fortunate to be offered and which helped in my professional development. I also wish to thank two figures from my earlier school years without whom I wouldn’t be writing these words: Géraldine Poizat-Newcomb, who opened the door to graduate studies for me, and Françoise Cohades, my high school English teacher whose support continues to inspire me to become a great teacher. I cannot forget the friends I made along the way, who provided advice and companionship: Tara Smithson and John Patin, who gave me a warm welcome when I first came to Baton Rouge; Piper Black, Mallory Fuller, and Jacey Flatte-Shrum, who shared the beginning of this journey; and Rachelle Mosing and Jade Basford, whose friendship I will forever treasure. My family also deserves a big thank you for their unwavering support through the years: despite the distance and not always understanding what I was going through, they were always iv there for me. And finally, I am immensely grateful for Calvin, who was by my side from day one and always believed in me even when I was overwhelmed with doubt. You were right, everything did turn out just fine! v Table of Contents Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... iv Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... vii Introduction. Gender roles and literary representations in the Middle Ages ................................... 1 Chapter 1. From Philomela to Philomena: transposing the myth in the 12th century .................... 16 Chapter 2. Too much power for one woman: shared agency in Cligès and Yvain ou le Chevalier au Lion ........................................................................................................................................... 52 Chapter 3. Female agency in disguise: cross-dressing in Le Roman de Silence ........................... 88 Chapter 4. Turning fiction into reality: Christine de Pizan’s Ditié Jehanne Darc ....................... 118 Conclusion. Female Agency, Medieval Studies, and 21st Century Teaching Methodologies..... 140 Appendix. The Willful Child ....................................................................................................... 148 Works Cited ................................................................................................................................. 149 Vita .............................................................................................................................................. 155 vi Abstract This dissertation examines the different ways authors portray female agency in medieval French literature. In focusing on three medieval writers, Chrétien de Troyes, Heldris de Cornouailles and Christine de Pizan, I contend that female agency arises as a result of trauma or crisis. I define my terms as follows: agency is the capacity and intention of performing actions on one’s own behalf. For a fictional character to have agency, therefore, she must be portrayed as having a sense of control and of being the owner of the action she executes. Additionally, I argue that as women characters assume their agency, they also demonstrate autonomy, that is to say that they act freely on personal motives. By the term trauma, I mean that authors put their fictional characters in a situation of severe upset resulting from physical or emotional injury. The word “trauma” originates from the Greek word for “wound”; I argue that agency can be developed during the healing process of an emotional wound. By crisis, I mean an extremely difficult or dangerous situation that, when reaching its most crucial point, forces these fictional characters to take action and make a decisive change in order to escape the predicament they find themselves in. Finally, during an era when gender roles were strictly defined and women were typically deprived of the freedom to make decisions for themselves, female characters had to find unusual ways to attain their goals. As Chrétien de Troyes and Heldris de Cornouailles show, female characters in fiction are especially constrained by tradition or law (before and during marriage); therefore, they need to disrupt social norms or seek the help of other women in order to act on their own volition. Christine de Pizan, by contrast, uses the example of a real person – Joan of Arc, who was alive during her time – to show of female agency becomes a tool to overcome challenges, disrupt social norms, and achieve greatness. vii Introduction. Gender Roles and Literary Representations in the Middle Ages PHRYNE. Why did you do it? LYDIA. Not all of us did so well out of the war, Phryne. You inherited a title, but my family lost everything. And then I met John and he was wealthy, charming. Far too charming. And in the end, a hopeless businessman and an utter embarrassment. I rescued us from bankruptcy and disgrace. And I built an empire. All I wanted was my own life back, but John wouldn't let me have it. Judge me, if you like. But I saved myself. PHRYNE. What a shame it took a life of crime for you to find your strength, Lydia.1 Despite being taken from a television series set in 1920s Melbourne – and therefore being seemingly unrelated to medieval studies – this conversation between two female characters illustrates the question I propose to answer in this dissertation. What does it take for female characters to be represented as having agency? In this episode of the 2012 Australian show Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Lydia has just admitted to being the criminal mastermind in charge of the local drug ring and to murdering her husband. As she explains, she only turned to crime after realizing that the man she married was a disappointment and did not meet her expectations, slowly leading them to financial and social ruin. Of course, her behavior is morally reprehensible and socially unacceptable – not to mention illegal – but in her mind her position was so unbearable that taking matters into her own hands and turning to crime seemed like the only solution available. Facing her crisis, she assessed the situation, and applied her predisposition for business to save herself.2 Phryne’s reaction further explains the problem faced by many female characters in fiction: 1 “Cocaine Blues.” Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, season 1, episode 1, ABC, 24 Feb. 2012. Netflix, https://www.netflix.com/title/70259338. If the show is not currently available on Netflix in the United States, a transcript of the episode can be found here https://transcripts.foreverdreaming.org/viewtopic.php?f=288&t=18166&sid=f266ab3a7cd4911d94b7deffb929dc47. 2 Lydia’s predisposition for business is mentioned a little later in the episode. 1 it takes a drastic situation to realize one’s inherent strength and to begin using it against society’s
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