“The Unexpected Actuality: ‘Deviance’ and Transgression.” Gender in Medieval Culture, by Michelle M. Sauer, Bloomsbury Academic, an Imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, Bloomsbury, 2015, pp. 67-70.
In chapter three of Michelle Sauer’s book, she delves into the concept of deviance and transgression within the construct of marriage. In the previous chapter, she details what the ideal marriage would have consisted of and that is chastity, virginity, and faithfulness. The reality, as she discusses, is sexual deviance. Sauer specifies that things which were not put under the category of “ideal” were placed under “deviant.” Sauer provides more evidence that women in medieval times were unjustly vilified. She discusses menstruation and how it was not something a woman could control but women were considered impure and inferior to the sealed male body because of it. Men were even instructed to avoid women during that time of the month to avoid the “venom” that would flow from them. There were even guidelines so that a man could tell when a woman was …show more content…
Chance justifies his action by attesting that while he did break it, he put himself at her mercy and was willing to suffer humiliation. I believe Lanval did fail his queen by breaking her vow, but also because he abandoned King Arthur’s court. It is easy to empathize with Lanval, as he was forgotten and mistreated by Arthur in the beginning, but knights were sworn to serve their kings regardless of their behavior. Chance argues that Guinevere represents Lanval and that as Lanval is continuously feminized, his rights and autonomy as taken away. Lanval is silenced by the lady’s vow and this is meant to symbolize what happens to women in the masculine, feudal culture in Britain at the time. This supports my point that when women break their silence, trouble ensues. Therefore, ideally, women in medieval times were