Dana Chamblee Carpenter's Bohemian Gospel

An individual’s role is somewhat pre-determined by their society. The division of society’s benchmark for an individual can be categorize by the following: class, gender and race. In Dana Chamblee Carpenter’s Bohemian Gospel, unusual class and gender roles are explored. Throughout the course of history, men and women have their respective roles they are expected to play in society. Men are regarded as superior to women and in the Bohemian Gospel, the main heroine, Mouse, is a testimony of how her class and gender in the thirteenth century was considered unusual. Chapter One immediately showcases how women are regarded in thirteenth century Bohemia. Mouse was met with hostility when she attempted to save Ottakar, the younger king of Bohemia. …show more content…
It seems that women’s role in medieval times were determined by the Bible. The negative connotation from Saint Paul that women are not allowed to teach, remain in silence and men are authoritative over them seemed to provide women with little to no opportunity to step out of that stereotype. There were some instance where women had authority over men but the general roles of women were in the church and home (Bovel “Women in medieval society”). Other than the supernatural powers Mouse and her status as an orphan, the belief of Saint Paul and the Bible seemed to have a major impact on how Mouse was treated throughout the book.
The Bohemian Gospel explored unusual gender roles in regards to women. Throughout this novel, there were times where Mouse fit the norm as a traditional woman of the thirteenth century. However, overall, Mouse did not fit the stereotype of the thirteenth century woman. Chapter one showcased how despite Mouse’s ability to save Ottakar’s life, her gender proved to be an obstacle in preforming that act. In chapter four, however, her gender did not seem to be a factor for the wild things to follow her