Are women controlling and powerful? All of the women in the literary texts of Beowulf, Gawain and the Green Knight, and Morte D'arthur have a high reputation, which isn't suspected of in such old literature. There is the argument that the women aren't as powerful as they may seem, but I believe that they are. Without some of these women in these texts, the stories and poems wouldn't portray the message that they want to send out. There are many themes throughout the stories and one of the most recurring ones in all three stories is customs and control. The female characters in Beowulf include, Grendel's mother, Wealhtheow (Hrothgar's wife), and Hygd (Hygelac's wife). In Gawain and the Green Knight, the female character's include, Bertilak's
…show more content…
It is a very interesting aspect that in these literary texts, the women are in a domineering position and still treated like all the other characters. Beowulf is a very good example of such. Beowulf is mostly a poem surrounded by the theme of heroism and chivalry. Superficially, this text definitely doesn't define the themes of customs and control since it's focus is more on the male characters. But there are portions of the text where women are used as entertainment sources and seen as high up as the other male characters. During the feasts at Heorot, "Wealhtheow came in...observing the courtesies. Adorned in her gold, she graciously saluted the men in the hall, then handed the cup first to Hrothgar" (Lines 612-616). Interpreting this sentence, the reader can see that the men in the hall do have respect for the queen. She also has a very important responsibility to hand out the cup that all the important men drink from. Women didn't have such responsibilities because they are deemed to be "the beauty" that complements the king. This does give the queen some reputation because she has to behave a certain way so she can complement and portray the king in good light. This is completely opposite in the next literary text, Sir Gawain and the Green …show more content…
Analyzing the texts, the most interesting aspect was the fact that these women were so highly respected that they are put aside men and at times above men. Examples like Morgan le Fay, she could be described as being above all of her fellow characters, as well as Queen Guinevere who is able to make decisions for herself without listening to male characters. Wealhtheow could presumably be placed aside men since she is so highly respected by them, while also taking care of tasks that most women weren't able to do. Also, Bertilak's wife was able to trick Gawain into believing her and that caused him to do a horrible sin. Women back in the "olden days" weren't able to take on very many tasks because most of those tasks were deemed only for men. These texts oppose those views and portray these women as powerful personas. It's significant to realize that even though women weren't seen as strong people and were given "dainty" tasks, in the stories they are portrayed as strong and domineering characters which was unlike some of the thought processes people had. The questions left unanswered and are unknown is why would the authors portray these women that way? Were the authors ahead of their time or were they doing this to put a twist on
It is a very interesting aspect that in these literary texts, the women are in a domineering position and still treated like all the other characters. Beowulf is a very good example of such. Beowulf is mostly a poem surrounded by the theme of heroism and chivalry. Superficially, this text definitely doesn't define the themes of customs and control since it's focus is more on the male characters. But there are portions of the text where women are used as entertainment sources and seen as high up as the other male characters. During the feasts at Heorot, "Wealhtheow came in...observing the courtesies. Adorned in her gold, she graciously saluted the men in the hall, then handed the cup first to Hrothgar" (Lines 612-616). Interpreting this sentence, the reader can see that the men in the hall do have respect for the queen. She also has a very important responsibility to hand out the cup that all the important men drink from. Women didn't have such responsibilities because they are deemed to be "the beauty" that complements the king. This does give the queen some reputation because she has to behave a certain way so she can complement and portray the king in good light. This is completely opposite in the next literary text, Sir Gawain and the Green …show more content…
Analyzing the texts, the most interesting aspect was the fact that these women were so highly respected that they are put aside men and at times above men. Examples like Morgan le Fay, she could be described as being above all of her fellow characters, as well as Queen Guinevere who is able to make decisions for herself without listening to male characters. Wealhtheow could presumably be placed aside men since she is so highly respected by them, while also taking care of tasks that most women weren't able to do. Also, Bertilak's wife was able to trick Gawain into believing her and that caused him to do a horrible sin. Women back in the "olden days" weren't able to take on very many tasks because most of those tasks were deemed only for men. These texts oppose those views and portray these women as powerful personas. It's significant to realize that even though women weren't seen as strong people and were given "dainty" tasks, in the stories they are portrayed as strong and domineering characters which was unlike some of the thought processes people had. The questions left unanswered and are unknown is why would the authors portray these women that way? Were the authors ahead of their time or were they doing this to put a twist on