Supernatural and Religion's Oppression on Medieval Woman
The roles of woman throughout history are different than they are today. Today, women can be entrepreneurs, doctors, astronauts, and anything else. They are not tied down to a man's expectations like they were in medieval times. Back then, women were victims to the whims of men and the beliefs of the time, which were largely influenced by religion and belief in the supernatural. There was no clear distinction between what was magic, and what was God, because they both provided similar guidance or healing when needed. They also caused problems for the women of the time. Women back then were meant to oblige to a man's desires without complaint. They were expected to produce children and …show more content…
Most women of the era kept their heads down and did as they were told, but others, like the Gowdies, Anna, and Bertrande, pressed against their societal constraints. For the most part, Bertrande was a loyal wife and followed the typical society enforced rules, but Arnaud taught her to write. When he taught her how to write the society was not mad, but more disgusted at Arnaud for teaching her. It went against their view of what a woman should do, but they did not revolt against her. If Bertrande had learned on her own the townspeople would have been angry at her. Almost no one could write, let alone a woman. This is similar to another well-known movie, Beauty and the Beast. Belle was the odd person out in the town, she had a passion for reading and no one else understood it. They regarded her with disgust and mistrust. Then, when Belle tried to teach another girl of the town how to read and write the father of the girl was furious at Belle. Belle and Bertrande share the similarity of being labeled as different just because they were able to do something that most of the town could …show more content…
They accepted the ore with no trouble, despite it being mined by women, "The Barmester helped her up onto a tavern table, so that she could reach the dish. Carefully, her face serious, she piled up the ore until the dish was full, and at that, the company cheered again" (Brooks, 187). The men cheered at the accomplishment of the women, and the ore was accepted without any problems. The thing about this example though, is that it is an unrealistic portrayal of the time. At that time, people would not have accepted the ore, they would have been outraged and would not have let little Merry have rights to the mine in the first place. This is a problem with the realism of this book that is created from the book being written in the current era. It is not a completely accurate representation of the medieval era but shows flecks of ideas from the current perceptions of gender
The roles of woman throughout history are different than they are today. Today, women can be entrepreneurs, doctors, astronauts, and anything else. They are not tied down to a man's expectations like they were in medieval times. Back then, women were victims to the whims of men and the beliefs of the time, which were largely influenced by religion and belief in the supernatural. There was no clear distinction between what was magic, and what was God, because they both provided similar guidance or healing when needed. They also caused problems for the women of the time. Women back then were meant to oblige to a man's desires without complaint. They were expected to produce children and …show more content…
Most women of the era kept their heads down and did as they were told, but others, like the Gowdies, Anna, and Bertrande, pressed against their societal constraints. For the most part, Bertrande was a loyal wife and followed the typical society enforced rules, but Arnaud taught her to write. When he taught her how to write the society was not mad, but more disgusted at Arnaud for teaching her. It went against their view of what a woman should do, but they did not revolt against her. If Bertrande had learned on her own the townspeople would have been angry at her. Almost no one could write, let alone a woman. This is similar to another well-known movie, Beauty and the Beast. Belle was the odd person out in the town, she had a passion for reading and no one else understood it. They regarded her with disgust and mistrust. Then, when Belle tried to teach another girl of the town how to read and write the father of the girl was furious at Belle. Belle and Bertrande share the similarity of being labeled as different just because they were able to do something that most of the town could …show more content…
They accepted the ore with no trouble, despite it being mined by women, "The Barmester helped her up onto a tavern table, so that she could reach the dish. Carefully, her face serious, she piled up the ore until the dish was full, and at that, the company cheered again" (Brooks, 187). The men cheered at the accomplishment of the women, and the ore was accepted without any problems. The thing about this example though, is that it is an unrealistic portrayal of the time. At that time, people would not have accepted the ore, they would have been outraged and would not have let little Merry have rights to the mine in the first place. This is a problem with the realism of this book that is created from the book being written in the current era. It is not a completely accurate representation of the medieval era but shows flecks of ideas from the current perceptions of gender