Women in the Medieval Time Period

Women who follow to the “normal” roles of wives, mothers, and peace weavers generally appear as confined and content. Even though they have no control and put into a submissive role against their will, the confined woman of medieval literature appears perfectly happy and gracious to live in such a role. Women in medieval literature is not dangerous and poses no threat to the male power structure. Such as King of Tars and Game of Thrones offers a clear example of a women’s role. Both of these works shows certain ideas about the role of the medieval woman and what her interactions with men should be. In a Game of Thrones Daenerys is dressed to catch the eyes of men, one in particular, and is put in weird almost a childlike role with her brother. Her brother uses her as an object to get what he wants, to reclaim his throne. Also when she is pregnant with “the stallion that mounts the throne,” she is only seen as an object, just as the career of the baby, forgetting that half of the baby’s genetic makeup is hers. In the King of Tars a Sultan demanded the hand of the Christian princess. The king refuses and the Sultan and his army attacks the Christians. The Christian princess was forced to leave her home and go with the Sultan. Again the women were used as only objects to settle disagreements and as a bargaining tool between two different races, or religious groups. Also in both of these books the women were fair and every beautiful. Saying that fair and super white is more desirable than any other skin tone. So basically women were seen to be trophy wives and to bear children.      

Zara Robinson