Le Morte Paper

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Juel Lewis 8th November 2017 Candice Pitts Le Morte D’ Arthur

The Definition of Gender According to Le’ Morte D’ Arthur Text

In the Medieval Period, knights dedicated their lives to following the code of chivalry. In Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, a number of characters performed chivalrous acts to achieve the status of an ideal knight (Minick). Their characteristics of respect for women and courtesy for all, helpfulness to the weak, honor, and skill in battle made the characters King Arthur, King Pellinore, and Sir Gryfflette examples of what a knights strove to be like in Medieval society. (kiblin pg 1). What is chivalry you may ask? It is all the qualities that are expected of a knight. His bravery, courage, honor and courtesy. But how does Le’ Morte D’ Arthur define gender? In the text gender is defined by the characteristics that are highly expected of them. For example men, their gender is defined by their courageous activity of chivalry. Here are a list of themes that can further demonstrate how the male and female gender is defined by their expected characteristics. Identity is one of the most important in Le’ Morte D’ Arthur. Each character is defined by their abilities and not their relations. In reference to men. He is defined by his loyalties to his country or liege. Knights are usually defined with epithets about their abilities or loyalties, sometimes given through fate, sometimes through their own accomplishments. For example, questions that would be asked are: are they capable of being a leader? Can they be sustainable on the battle field? Automatically these questions are not suitable for females which therefore also

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shows how identity of females were in the beholder of their men. This does solve as some sort of credibility that men (knights) are dominant in the world of Le’ Morte D’ Arthur. The role of women were very submissive. Although women were lacking many characteristics similar to men, the one thing about their identity that is grand is their sexual power. The most powerful women are those who can perfectly manipulate men through their sexual demeanor. Destiny is another theme. All the knights such as Arthur Mordred and Galahad were destined to accomplish or fulfill a certain task. For example Arthur was meant to bring peace to a fractured country; Mordred was meant to destroy his father’s kingdom; and Galahad was destined to find the Sangreal. The whole epic has a sense of inevitable fate because of its title, which foreshadows Arthur's death long before it happens. What is also fascinating is that there is no mention of the destiny of a female. Can this be another way the text defines gender: it is merely focused on men. A knight must have something destined for him whether he accepts it or not. The center of attention heavily lies on the knights in their community. But you will never hear mention of the destiny of a woman. Another major theme that can be seen is chivalry. Chivalry defines the code of ethics that the Knights of the Round Table must uphold. King Arthur cements the importance of chivalry within the fellowship of the Round Table by asking his knights to renew their vows of knighthood at Pentecost each year, promising to protect women and to flee from treason and murder. Most of the main characters, including King Arthur, Launcelot, and Gawaine, uphold their promises of chivalry; however, they, like many of the other characters, break their vows on various occasions. For instance Arthur kills the sorceress Annowre; Launcelot fights and kills other Knights of the Round Table; and Gawaine encourages Arthur to go to war with Launcelot. Chivalry is as much of importance for knights to strive for than an easily realized virtue. This is a

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perfect example of a characteristic that defines gender in the text. Chivalry is the most important characteristic to their identity. Without it who would they be? Their whole society is dependent on the knights who possess the quality off chivalry. With the amount of betrayal and war talk that these Knights engage in, they must have some sort of chivalry. Shouldn’t they? Lastly, to give greater insight on the idea or belief that men are the center of attention in this text, let us look at some ways the world was revolved around them. In other word, the role of women. While their knights are engaging in jousting tournaments they serve the purpose of being a cheer leader in support of their beloved knight. Women had always been on the side lines. Although they are powerful through their sexual demeanor, this still isn’t significant enough to make a greater impact on the society back then. All in all, we can clearly see that this text defines gender by the characteristic traits they are entitled to: the most common men being dominant and the women being submissive. Particularly the men, it all depends on the outcome of their chivalry.

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Work Cited

“Knights Chivalry in Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.” Knights Chivalry in Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur | Kibin, www.kibin.com/essay-examples/knights-chivalry-in-sirthomas-malorys-le-morte-darthur-cq39wNxa.

Malory, Sir Thomas, et al. “Le Morte d'Arthur Themes.” GradeSaver: Getting you the grade, www.gradesaver.com/le-morte-darthur/study-guide/themes.

Harcourt, Houhton. “Le Morte D’ Arthur”. Cliff Notes. © 2016 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved. https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/l/le-morte-darthur/about-le-morte-darthur