Albina And The Man's Tale Gender Roles

Although separated by thousands of years, medieval and contemporary western cultures share multiple indistinguishable ideals. One of which are those regarding foreign lands, such as Syria. In the stories, Albina and The Man of Law’s Tale, Syria is the home of an unholy community. Within them Syria represents the wickedness that threatens the Christian religion. In these tales, Christian Europeans use Syria, and others, to portray Christianity favorably in an effort to gain followers. This is done through the use of religion and gender. These ancient stories have continued to influence the overall depiction of some societies and continue to do so during the twenty first century.

Albina and The Man of Law’s are an apparatus utilized to enforce …show more content…
In stories such as these, most men, including King Alla of The Man of Law’s, embark on their trips to defend their countries in wars and these men almost always receive praise upon their return. As previously mentioned, women’s travels are typically restricted to occurring at the will of their male counterparts. Typically their survival of these trips is not met with the same enthusiasm. Custance furthers the issue that men and women procure contrasting dangers in their travels. She reinforces the stereotype that women are unable to survive extensive travel without their male counterparts. As outlined in both tales, the women are at greater risk of violent dangers such as rape. For Custance, her personal protection is limited to her prayers to Christian figures such as the Virgin Mary and …show more content…
Custance’s inability to acquire faith within herself is the outcome of the Christian values she has been taught. Again, these are the same rules that are predominantly set by men in order to control their societies with rules set by an omnipotent higher being. Another key factor in the discrepancy between men and women in The Man of Law’s is the Sultan’s will to disregard his country’s religion in order for him to be wed to Custance. It is a strange custom to be described, not just religiously, but an odd occurrence between a powerful man and his soon to be wife. For him to willingly set aside such an important part of his life for a foreign woman is a significant not only in regards to his devotion for Custance, but gender reversal. Customarily it is women who must submit to the male’s form of