Prominent Roles of Women and Their Virtues
Throughout the Middle Ages women were not appreciated nearly as much as men were and often played a minor role in literature. They were disrespected and thought to be the cause of all things negative in the world. The negative perception of women in literature damaged the way women were viewed and treated. However, toward the end of the middle ages, times were changing and women began to play major roles in literature which showed that they could have an impact. This changing view on women in literature represents how they are gaining power in society. In both Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Christine de Pizan’s The Book of the City of the Ladies women play a critical role in literature. However …show more content…
In an attempt to test Gawain, Lady Bercilak tempted him with her beauty until she found his fault and convinced him to take the green girdle. Gawain stated, “The faults and frailty of the flesh preserve / how its tenderness entices the foul taint of sin” (2435-2436). His words show that he did have a physical attraction for Lady Bercilak and she used this power in an unvirtuous way to try and find a fault. Lady Bercilak could have went about finding his fault in a number of other ways but instead did so in an improper way that she knew most men would fall for. Although it did not work, we can still see that Lady Bercilak was unvirtuous in her vital role. Morgan le Fay also used her sorceress power to convince Lord Bercilak to go to the round table to test the knights. Lord Bercilak said, “She put this shape upon me to puzzle your wits, / to afflict the fair queen, and frighten her to death” (2459-2460). His words show that Morgan le Fay sent him to the round table in order to frighten her enemy Queen Guenevere. Her action proves that she used her powerful role as being a sorceress in an unvirtuous way to scare her enemy and the people of the round table. On the other hand, Carmentis used her wisdom to create a positive influence on society. Pizan stated, “After discovering that the men of that country were all savages, she wrote certain laws enjoining them to live in accord with right and reason, following justice” (I.33.2). Carmentis saw that the society she was in was chaotic because there was no governing law system. To fix the problem, she used her power of wisdom to create laws to help the people live in accord. Carmentis was extraordinary and was even looked upon as being a goddess. Talking about the Italians, Pizan stated, “they not only deemed this woman to be greater than any man, but they also considered her a goddess and even honored her during her