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Perception of Women of the Arthurian Legend in the Middle Ages and In

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Perception of Women of the Arthurian Legend in the Middle Ages and In Masaryk University in Brno Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Marie Štefanidesová Perception of Women of the Arthurian Legend in the Middle Ages and in the Twentieth Century B.A.MajorThesis Supervisor: doc.Mgr.,MiladaFranková,CSc.M.A. 2007 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………….. Author’s signature 2 Acknowledgement Iwouldlike tothankmysupervisor,doc.Mgr.MiladaFranková,CSc.,M.A.,forherkind help,patienceandthe timeshededicatedtomywork. 3 Table Of Contents 1.INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................5 2.THEORIGINSAND HISTORY OFARTHURIANLITERATURE.........................7 2.1BeforeMalory-- FromCelticLegendstoFrenchRomances............................7 2.2Malory,HisTimeandtheConditionsof Women.............................................12 2.3Malory'sImpactonArturianLiterature............................................................16 3.ADIFFERENTSETTING -- THETWENTIETHCENTURY;DEVELOPMENTOF THEARTHURIAN LEGENDDEMONSTRATED ON WHITE ANDBRADLEY..19 3.1SocialBackground-GodversusGoddes.........................................................19 3.2White -- A NewApproachToTradition............................................................21 3.3Bradley -- NeoPaganismandFemaleSpirituality.............................................25 4.DEVELOPMENTOFFEMALE CHARACTERS.......................................................29 4.1TheOldOnes.....................................................................................................29 4.2Guinevere...........................................................................................................33 4.3OtherFemaleCharacters...................................................................................36 5.Conclusion................................................................................................................38 4 1. INTRODUCTION TheArthurianlegend,oftenreferredtoasthe"MatterofBritain",isoneofthemost important partsoftheBritishnationalheritage;overthe centuries,ithasdevelopedintoa symbolofBritishpatriotism,aconsolationinbadtimesandareligiousalegoryofsearching fortheTruth.Theseinterpretations areusuallycenteredaroundthemalecharactersof the legendandpromotethe patriarchaldivisionofthesociety;still,manymore possibleviewson thelegendhave beenexpressed.Inmythesis,I willinvestigatetwotwentiethcenturyviews andcontrast themwiththetraditional Christianones byanalysingthreeofthecrucialliterary works basedonthelegend;Inthisanalysis,Iwillconcentrateonthefemalecharacters appearingintheserewritings.Theaimofsuchcomparisonistodemonstrate inwhat waysthe time periodaswellas thesocietywheretheauthorlives,alongwithhis orher beliefsand politicalopinions,affectthetreatmentofthe particularmaterial,whileat thesametimethe workitselfoffersdiversewaysofunderstandingthesociety,itshistoryanddevelopment. Morte D'Arthur byThomasMalory,adetailedprosaicdescriptionofthe eventsofthe legend,isundoubtedlyoneofthecrucialworks concerningthetopic.Itwasfirst publishedby Caxtonin1485andhas formedthe basisforalltheArthurianliteratureeversince;Malory's impactcanbetracedeveninthe twentiethcenturyfantasyfiction.Malory'sworkreflectsthe Middle-Agestereotypeofwomenas evilandresponsiblefor theoriginalsinonlytoa certain degree,theinfluenceofcourtlyromancesinwhichwomenwere praisedandadoredcreates a morefavourabledepictionofthem.Thesocialandpolitical conditionsofthetwentieth centurywhichdifferedradicallyfromthoseintheMiddleAgesarenaturallyreflectedin literatureandinthe perceptionoftheMatterofBritain,too.Theroleofwomeninthe society and,consequentaly,inliterature,altereddramatically;thegeneral tendencywastodraw more attentiontowardsthem,theiremotionsandmotivations;this canbeobservedintwoimportant Arthuriannovels,inT.H.White's TheOnceandFuture King (1958)andinparticularin The 5 Mistsof Avalon (1979) byMarionZimmerBradley.WhileWhite portraysthefemale characterswithsympathyandunderstanding,he usesthem mainlyasameanstofindout moreabout hismaleheroes.Bradley,ontheotherhand,makeswomenthecentralcharacters ofhernovel anddescribesthierstruggletoretaintheir power anddignityinthe patriarchal society. Thefirstchapterofmythesis providesachronological accountofthedevelopmentof femalecharactersinthe Arthurianlegend.Thechapter beginswithCeltic mythsfromwhich thelegendoriginated,theroleofwomeninCelticreligionandsocietyis describedaswellas theextenttowhichtheCelticaspects ofthelegendhave beenpreserved,particularlyin relationtotheremainsofGoddessworshipwhichsurvivedtheChristianisationofthe Arthurianmaterial intheMiddleAges.Thesecondpartofthischapterdealswiththewaythe legenddevelopedinthe MiddleAgesandwiththechanges ofthe perceptionofwoman characters.Mostattentionis paidtoMalory's Morte D'Arthur andthe importanceofthis particularworkforall laterrewritingsofthelegend.Thelast partofthischapterdesribesthe changesinviewingthefemalecharactersofthe Arthurianlegendaswellaswomeningeneral whichoccurredinthetwentiethcentury,brieflymentioningthemostimportantliteraryworks inspiredbytheArthurian mythology; thisshouldprovidecontextfothenextchapter. Inthesecondchapter,T.H.White's TheOnceandFuture King iscomparedtoMarion ZimmerBradley's The Mistsof Avalon. Thetimeinwhichthestoryisset playsacrucial role forthereligionpractisedinbothbooksand,consequentaly,forthe positionofwomen. Thereforethesettingof bothnovels isthefirst topicdiscussedinthechapter,theChristian surroundingsin TheOnceandFuture King arecontrastedwiththeearlyMiddleAgesand survivingGoddessworshipinThe Mistsof Avalon. Thegeneral introductiontobothnovelsis followedbyamoredetailedinsight intothe theoretical backgroundof bothnovels.Toa limitedextent,it is possbile toapplycertainaspectsofthe postmodernist theorytoWhite; 6 Bradley'swork,ontheotherhand,isconsciouslyconstructedonthegroundof NeoPaganism andfeministspirituality.Thetheoretical principleswill be employedinthedetailedanalysis ofallmajorfemalecharacterswhichoccurinthenovels,startingwithArthur'shalf-sisters MorganandMorgauseandtheiralliestowhom Whiterefersas"TheOldOnes";this indictes theirGaelic origins andtheirconnectiontothemysticalworldofCelticlegends.InWhite, thisworldisalmosttotallyforgottenwhileinBradleyitstill survives,althoughthenew Christianreligionis pushingitslowlyoutofreality,intotherealmofdreamsandfairytales. Anotherimportantcharacterwhichwill be paidattentiontoisGuinevere,Arthur'sunfaithful wife.WhileintheMiddleAgesshe was picturedasthesinfulwomanwhobroughttheRound Tabletoits end,thetwentiethcenturyauthorswantedtohumanizeherinaccordance withthe feministtendencies.Thiscouldbeobservedparticularlyin TheOnceandFuture King ; Bradley,ontheotherhand,doesnot depictGuinevere inaveryfavourablelight;stillthe readersmaysympathisewithher.Thelast partofthischapterconcentratesonthefemale characterswhodonot playacrucial role intheeventsofthe novel butstilltheviews ofthe authorscanbedemonstratedonthem. 7 2. THE ORIGINS AND HISTORY OF ARTHURIAN LITERATURE 2.1 Before Malory -- From Celtic Legends to French Romances Itisnot possible tospecifyinwhattimetheArthurianlegendoriginatedasits roots reachfar intothemysterious pagantimesaboutwhichthereislittlehistoricalevidence. However,theinfluence ofCeltic(especiallyWelsh)legends canbetraced.Toexplorethe treatmentof womenintheArthurianlegend,it isnecessarytoknowwhat positiontheyheld withinCelticsocietyas wellas towhatextenttheimpactof Celticmythologycanbetracedin thelaterversionsofthe legend. AfewelementsofCelticreligionwhichsurvivedtheChristianizationoftheBritishIsles hane beenpreservedintheArthurianlegend.Arthurproves thatheisthe rightfulKingof Britainwhenhe pulls theswordout ofthestone;whenheis deadlywoundedafterthefinal battle,hedeparts tothe mysterious islandofFairypeople; Merlinandothercharacters(mostly female)use magictochangethecourseofevents.Theseare justafewinstanceswhich supportthe claimthatthesupernatural playsanimportant partinthestory;eventhe most strictandpiousmedievalscribescouldnotomititentirely.Onesuchelementistheexistence oftheBlessedRealm,a mystical sacredplacewheretimerunsdifferentlyandwhichhasno clear boundarywiththisworld;inWelsh,sucha place iscalledYnisAvalon,the Isle of Apples.Appleswere asociatedwiththefemaleGoddessinCelticmythology;asacredapple tree couldbefoundintheBlessedRealmof mostCelticmythologies (Celtopedia).Themagic swordandthescabbardwhichprotectsArthur'slifearedescribedbymanyauthors including Geoffreyof Monmouthasgiftsthat Arthurreceivesfromthefairypeople,usuallyfromthe femaleinhabitantsofAvalon. Thewayinwhichanysocietyperceiveswomenisusuallyconnectedwithreligion. Althoughthe beliefofsomefeministandNeoPaganmovementswhichemergedattheendof 8 thetwentiethcenturyoftentendtoexaggeratetheroleofwomenwithinCeltic society, evidence existsthattheydidenjoysomerespectandcouldreacha powerful positionwithin thecommunity.Womenwere probablynotallowedtojointheordersofdruids; still,female priestessesandprophets existed.AngusKonstam's Historical Atlasof the Celtic World cites someexamplesrecordedbyRomans whovisitedBritain,suchasPomponiusMelawhointhe firstcenturyADdescribedanislandcalledSena,a partofwhatisnowcalledtheScillyIsles, whichseemedtobeasacredplacewherenine priestesseswithsupernatural powerslived (104).EventheRomanleaders consultedCeltic priestessesandaskedthemtoforetelltheir future;manycasesinwhichthewordsofthe priestessescameintobeingarerecorded(105). Althoughthefemale priestesseswerenotrespectedasmuchasthemaledruids,theyformed
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