What's in a Name ？： Malory's Metamorphosis of Elayne le Blanke in the Mo rte Darthur Michele Fennick-Pinkham She has been described by critics as overemotional and nai've， a “victim of passion，”'） a woman who knows her place and keeps it． Her role in Malory's Morte Darthur is fleeting； she is one more woman on Launcelot's long list of admirers． She is the “Fayre Maydyn off Astolot，”2） the devoted virgin lover of Launcelot， dutiful daughter， and aspiring wife． Martin Schichtman defines her role in Malory's Morte as， at best， “peripheral” because， he contends， “she 'has no real story beyond that which can be summed gp in two sen- tences．”3） But Schichtman， like other Malorian critics， has ignored t．he fair maid's narratological past， the j ourney from which yields a story far more complex than could be contained in Schichtman's al- lotted two sentences．， True， the maid is， as Sir Bors observes， “a passyng fayre damesell， and well besayne and well taught”；‘） howev- er， unlike her ancestors in the English stanzaic Le Morte A rthur and ） 1 Larry Benson， Malo7zy s Morte Darthur （Cambridge and London： ' Harvard UP， 1976） 232． ）） 9白00Malory 623．22． Martin Schichtman， “Elaine and Guinevere： Gender and Historical Consciousness in the Middle Ages，” IVew lmages of Medieval J7Voinen： Essays Toward a Czaltural A nthroPology， ed． Edelgard E． DuBruck （Lewiston： Edwin Mellen， 1989） 261． （143） What's in a N ame ？ ： the French La Mort le Roi A rtzcs，5） Malory's “Fayre Maydyn off As- tolot” is autonomous． ln liberating the character from the mold prescribed by his predecessors， Malory creates for his maid a strong and often defiant voice with which she responds to both society and to Launcelot， a voice which she uses to determine and control'her own destiny． The lmportance of a Name One of the most significant distinctions between Malory's maid and the maids of both the French Mort A rtu and the Stanzaic Morte is immediately apparent to the reader： Malory gives his fair maid a name． N either of his sources deern the character worthy of such an honor． The French text introduces her briefly as “la fille al signor'6） ［“the vavasour's daughter”］ ，7） and throughout・the story she is referred to as simply “la' @damoisele”8） ［‘Sthe girl”］ ．9） Similarly， in the Stanzaic Morte the maid enters the text as the “dere ．．．． doughtir” of “th'erl；”iO） although the character is most often referred to by the pronoun “she．”・ Malory also assigns 'to the maid the role of daugh一 ）） 4『0Malory 635．9-10． In order to avoid confusion with the Stanzaic text， the French La Mort le Roi A rtzas will hereafter be referred to by its more common name， Mort A rtu． ） 6 La Mort le Roi A rtzts， ed． H． Oskar Sommer， The Vulgate Version of A ithzarian Romances， vol． 6 （Washington： Carnegie lnstitute， 1913） 208．21． ） 7 The Death of King A ithur， trans． James Cabl．e （New York： Penguin， 1971） 29． 8） Mort A rtza 208．36． 9） Death of King A rthur 30． 10） La Morte A rthur，' ed． Larry D． Benson， King A rthur's Death．． （Exeter， Eng．： U of Exeter P， 1986） 8．177． （144） ，ter， but within the first six lines of his story， he prdvides for her an・ identity that is hers alone： he names his fair maiden Elayne． le Blanke．ii） Schichtman maintains that “prior to Lancelot's arrival at her fa- ther's， Elaine's life has been shaped by the rituals she has been taught to perform．”i2） H owever， Schichtman also admits that “Malory speaks little aboqt Elaine's past，” which Schichtman reads as Malory “leaving the reader to concltide simply that her character has been shaped by the various medieval institutions governing the behavior of women．”i3） Therefore， he conj ectures， Elayne's name， le Blanke， personifies her life before Launcelot． “Her life has been a blank，” he writes， “a whiteness to be written on， to be inscribed．”'‘） But Schichtman has erred in his assumption． ' Little in Malor．y's text would lead the careful reader to deduce that Elayne le Blanke is the product of medieval convention； inuch more evidence is available to prove that Elayne is conStantlY pushing against convention， Laun- celot's influence notwithstanding． lf， as Paulette L'Hermite-Leclercq explains， “medieval society was one in which men had the initiative and women were passive，”'5） then contrary to Schichtman's assump- tion， Elayne does not fit the medieval mold． Elayne is not a blank slate upon which Malory writes Launcelot's story； in fact， within 11） Malory 623．26． 12） Schichtman 260-61． 13） Schichtman 261． 14） Schichtman 261． 15） Paulette L'Hermite-Leclercq，‘‘．The Feudal Order，”trans． Arthur Goldhammer， Silences of the Middle Ages， ed． Christiane Klapisch- Zuber， vol． 2 of A Histozy of VVomen in the VVest， gen． ed． Georges Duby and Michelle Perrot （Cambridge， Mass．： Belknap P； 1992） 247． （145） What's in a Name ？： Malbry's story， Elayne becomes an author in her own right and re- writes Launc' ?撃盾?'in the process． Furthermore， the name Malory chooses for Elayne does not con- nect'her to a male character （le Blanke is not her father's Surname），' nor does it refer to her beauty， an attribute for which she is solely known in the French and Stanzaic texts．16）Instead，耳layne's name serves to transform her from a direct obj ect ihto a proper noun． She is not a piece of property； she is a woman， worthy of her own name and its capital letter． ln medieval society， a daughter was the property of her father gntil the father married her bff to the highest bidder； she then became the property of her husband． L'Hermite- Leclercq notes・ that “in contemporary ［medieval］ texts， women usually figure aS direct objects． A・father ‘marries off' or ‘gives away' or ‘conventizes' his daughter．”i7） Elayne's ancestors are defined only'by their positions； as daughters，' they do not exist be- yond the．narrow familial realm． By naming Elayne， Malory has written her into．existence． He shifts the focus from Elayne's status as daughter to ElaYne's status as， person． She is no longer a direct obj ect； she is a proper noun． With a proper name， Elayne becomes as important as her story． ' Finally， Elayne's 'name， le Blanke， defines the burden from which she would most like to．relieve herself-her virginity． Truly， for a woman whose very name means “the white” and wh6 connotes purity 16） In the Frepch text， the maid is “very beautiful” （Death-29）． The Stanzaic Morte describes her more poetically， but the' author's characterization of the girl is equally limited to a description of her beauty： “Her rode was red as blossom on brere ／ Or flowr that springeth in the feld” （8．179-80）． 17） L'Hermite-Leclercq 247． （146） and innocence， Elayne is remarkably aware of herself as a sexual being． ln the line following her naming， Malory reveals that Elayne is “hote in love” with Launcelot．'8 ln fact， Elayne's passion， the quality for which Benson pities her，'9） often serves as a catalyst for her dynamism．' Her passion， not exclusively her feelings for Laun- celot， but also her efficacious and forthright approach to every criti- cal circumstance in her story， is what sets her apart from her more conventional ancestors． Take， for example， Elayne's reaction to Gawayne's news． that “‘Qne knyght with the rede slyve smote downe fourty knyghtes of the Rounde Table．”'20） Elayne zealously ex- claims， “‘Now blyssed be God．．．that one knygt sped so welle！ For he ys the man in the world that 1 firste loved， and truly he shall be the laste that ever 1 shall love．”'2'） She is neither ashamed nor a- fraid of，her passion． Although this episode does not appear in the Stanzaic Morte， in the French Mort A rtu the maid hides her happi- ness at the same report： Qvant la damoisele entent ceste Parole si en a moult grant ioie mais samblant nen volt faire Por ceazass qui deuant lui estoient．22） ［When the girl heard what he said， she was very happy， but she did not dare show it because of the people she was with］ ．23） The French maid is aware of and obedient to her prescribed place in the social order； Malory's Elayne ignores it． Schichtman concludes 18） Malory 623．27． 19） Benson 232． 20） MalorY 630．18-19． 21） Malory 630．21-23． 22） Mort A rtu 215．36-37． 23） Death of A rthur 40． （147） What's in a Name ？ ： that “despite an outpouring of feeling， Elaine keeps to her well- defined place．”2‘） But time and again Malory's Elayne steps beypnd the place prescribed to her by-her medieval world．' @With a forth- right and honest voice， Elayne asserts herself as an individual in a patriarchal society and retaliates against a Launcelot who is blind to her personhood． Elayne's respopse to society Perhaps what is most ，interesting about Elaype's autonomy is that it seems to be fostered at home， a home she shares with her “olde barown”25） father and two brothers． Malory's text．doe＄ not recognize the presence of a baroness， and the absence of a rpother ．may have proved to be to Elayne's advantage；L'Hermite-Leclercq confirms that the vast maj ority of 'women probably saw nothing unusual in ［their subjugated station］ ． They were taught tQ obey， and in turn they taught their children to obey ．．．． The hierarchy was thus perpetuated in ' the first'instance by women themselves， and rebellion must have been infrequent．26） Without a wife to model the traditional role for his daughter， the old barQn treats Elayne as equal to （and oftentimes'greater than） her brothers． Although Malory mentions that “there was never chylde nother wyff more mekar tyll fadir and husbande than was thyS Fayre Maydyn of Astolat，”27） Elayne's role within the family unit is 24） Schichtman 262． 25） Malory 635．28-29． 26） L'Hermite-Leclercq 247． 27） ' Mqlory