Friday, September 5, 2014

Women in Erec and Enide

In class we agreed that Enide is a wise, loyal, and loving person while Erec is more pompous than anything. Erec and Enide showcases Enide worthiness and utter goodness which are so great that her name is even included in the title. Enide is a complement to Erec, filling in what he's lacking, such as intelligence.  One of my favorite aspects in this story are the descriptions of Erec and Enide. With great sarcasm Chretien de Troyes writes "What shall I say of [Erec's] virtues?" which is followed by a description of what he was wearing, rather than any virtues. (3). Where as with Endie he writes "What shall I say of her beauty?" followed by a thoroughly detailed description of Endie's beauty (7).
Enide is first described by her brilliant looks, "the maid was charming, in sooth, for Nature had used all her skill in forming her. Nature herself had marveled more than five hundred times how upon this one occasion she had succeeded in creating such a perfect thing. Never again could she so strive successful to reproduce her pattern" (7). Though it was her beauty that made Erec take interest in her, Enid is so much more than just her amazing looks. Enide is not a shallow or fragile women, she's shown as being extremely capable.

For Erec, it's as if Enide is mostly a pretty maiden for him to look at, he doesn't even learn her name until they are getting married! It's as if she is given a full sense of identity once she is married. However, the story does not end with Erec and Enid's wedding, we roll right into the adventure of marriage. Enide is a wonderful wife to Erec, she is familiar with traditional feminine duties, has refined manners, is able to take on physical work, and voices her concern. She demands to keep watch at night while Erec sleeps and demonstrates her cunning when she tricks Gaolin and saves Erec from death. Even with all of Enide's strong characteristics, she never stops being a sweet, loving, refined wife.

In the later half of the story we see Mabonagrain and his mistress who function as parallels of Erec and Enide's relationship. Whereas Mabonagrain is enslaved by his mistress's love, Erec is empowered by Enide's. This mistress acts just for her own satisfaction, but Enide focuses on Erec's well being. The author is making a big statement in leaving Mabonagrain's lady unnamed. She is shown as being uncaring that her lover is miserable and an outcast from society, causing her emptiness and self-absorption to rob her of her own identity.

Do you think that Chretien de Troyes is being a pro-feminist through having such a strong female character. Did the author seem at all misogynistic for his portrayal of women, such as those who aren't given full identities such as Mabonagrain's mistress?

10 comments:

  1. I think that it is important that we think about the time period and cultural tendencies of the setting of the piece when we make comment on the way women are perceived and treated in the story and the role they played. Yes, Erec doesn't learn Enide's name until they are getting married but that was a very frequent occurrence for the time. Being the fairest in the land was something that was respected at the time. So, beauty was viewed as something to be respected, but being fair is also aligned with being fair in the sense of being light, pale and pure. She proved herself to be an excellent wife to Erec and for a lady of the time that is what one was to strive for. There is absolutely nothing wrong with thriving in the hearth and home. She is also refine and voices her concerns. She is a very well rounded and strong woman for her time and I think that deserves the utmost respect. As for Chretien de Troyes' intentions with creating a strong female character and yet barely mentioning others, I do not believe that this needs to be turned into some misogynistic commentary. Some women are just more mentionable and outstanding than others. The same goes for men. Mabongrain's mistress is left unnamed, but we also know that she was not a lady who was to be held in high esteem. As you said, she was uncaring and more concerned with herself than anyone else. It's almost funny that her vanity robbed her of an identity. If she had cared enough about anyone else perhaps she would've been worthy of a name. Now don't get me wrong, everyone deserves an identity, but she was not was not a lady with good character that was worth mentioning, rather she was a lady who was in the story to juxtapose Enide's character.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You raise a good point in the importance of considering the story's time period and cultural norms. During my original reading of this piece, I was surprised by all of the things that Enide was "able" to do in the story. Reading about Queen Guinevere did not shock me, as she is a woman with great power and authority. Therefore, it seems more natural that Queen Guinevere would be out doing her own thing for the most part. The story's title really fascinates me. Seeing Enide's name in the title really lets readers know that she plays a vital part in this story. I wonder what readers at the time thought of this. I would also love to know what readers during the time in which the story takes place thought of Endie. She is made to be the perfect woman. Endie is lovely in all ways and is able to be incredibility strong when she needs to be. It makes me wonder if readers thought she was an ideal woman, in that she was sweet, refined, and also strong. On the other hand, I wonder how many readers were turned off by Endie's physical and emotional strength (there's always readers like those no matter what time period). Certainly Mabongrain's mistress is a stark contrast against Endie, and like you said, it is important to consider who is named, who is not, and why this occurs.

      Delete
    2. I think you're absolutely right! It is shocking how much Enide is "able" to do. And Guinevere as well. I feel like it is advanced for the time, so if there is any commentary regarding women in this story I believe it is a positive remark regarding strong women. Perhaps this story helps to be a key moment in the history of strong women in literature because it does not outright condemn them. Readers at the time may have been shocked to see a woman's name in the title and to read a story that doesn't stone strong women. It most certainly must have turned some people away. As a strong, outspoken woman myself I know I do that on a daily basis.And there isn't anything wrong with being a strong and honorable woman.

      Delete
    3. I agree that it seems as though Enide's character has far more agency than many other women portrayed in her time period. However, I am also curious if Cretien bases his view of a woman not only off of her merit, but also off of her social standing. As you guys point out, the only two women that are given names throughout the story are Guinevere and Enide. These two women are of high rank, and by the end of the story both are queens. This sort of makes me wonder if there is a connection between this coincidence and the usage of their names. Even Guinevere's damsel who necessitates the whole story remains unnamed. So, does Cretien choose to name Guinevere and Enid partially out of respect for their titles, or solely on their merit?

      Delete
    4. You make a good point. It's probably a combination of both, Sorry I couldn't respond to you by the noon deadline. Since the post was so late I couldn't get back to my computer in time.

      Perhaps these two women gained their higher rank based on their merits. I believe that that is the case with Enide.

      Delete
  2. Are we missing a contributing member to this conversation?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I also thought that the portrayal of female characters in this story was very interesting. I would have expected male characters to take the forefront as the female characters faded into the background as objects that necessitated the plot. Typically, the man is the hero who sweeps in and saves the woman from some sort of peril that has befallen her due to forces outside of her control. It is funny how men in these types of stories often seem to be very in control of the forces around them, while women seem to be susceptible to their control.
    Enide, instead of being merely an object, was instead a major player in the story. It was her actions that altered not only the plot, but affected Eric as a character. It’s interesting because Eric initially seems to see her as no more than a beautiful object. By the end of the story Eric seems to have finally come to understand Enide’s worth and come to appreciation her thoughts and wisdom. In the beginning of the story Eric is described in terms of his beautiful clothes. By the end of the story displays of this sort of decadence on Eric’s part become less frequent. Enide’s feminine influence is what has caused him to abandon some of his shallow tendencies. She is able to help him become a man worthy of the title he was born to. It is then that Eric is given the cloak and honored in a ceremony. It seems as if this and other subtle clues hint to the idea that Chretien de Troyes was really trying to make Enide the stronger character. This may be Chretien’s way of revealing pro-feminist ideals.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The role of women in this story is certainly something that's attention grabbing. As you say, it would be natural to expect guys in the story to be doing everything instead of women. However, this story features two types of women: those who do things and those who stay in the background. It is so important to remember that Enide actions impact. the story's plot. Just as Erec's actions impact Endie, her actions affect him. You also raise a really good point when you highlight how Erec perceives Enide from the beginning to the end of the story. Earlier in the story, Erec gets mad at Endie when she tries to him him, pretty much telling her to "shut up." However, Endie constantly proves her worth to Erec and saves his life several times through her love and wisdom. It is due to Endie that Erec was able to grow as a person. As the story progresses we get far less descriptions of what Erec is wearing (to signify the merit of his worth). Without Endie Erec could have never have grown as a character and would undoubtedly be dead.

      Delete
    2. As we have discussed above there is some merit to that opinion. Chretien very well may have been taking a pro-feminist approach; that is, the feminism that empowers women to be on an equal playing field, not above men, and not below. Towards the end of the story the focus is less on Eric and Enide's appearances, but on their person. Enide was help to Eric and may have saved his life, and that is the positive kind of feminism that helps everyone rather than condemning some.

      Delete
  4. Hello Kathryn, Skylar, and Laura,

    Kathryn, you set up a nice structural analysis here, when you focus on the parallel couple and the importance of Enide as a character--both to Erec's evolution and as a player in her own right. I also like how all of you inform each other's thinking in the process of discussion and generally engage each other thoughtfully. The discussion tends to get a bit sidetracked though in speculative comparisons of other literature or attitudes of the time, and away from the very interesting specifics of this particular story. The whole _point_ of this story is that Erec learns to be a better knight and a better person by having a better relationship with Enide. The fact that other female characters in the story don't have names or don't play positive roles aren't good evidence of misogyny--they're there to further the story and stand as reflections of the main characters. Make sure to keep your analytical attention as much into the text as possible--what happens _in the story,_ and why does it happen in that way? Once that's solid, you can discuss the historical dimensions--but really even then you need better evidence for that, as in, more stories from the same period to actually work with.

    ReplyDelete