How does women’s sexuality seem to evolve between the two versions of Tristan & Isolde and the Saga of the Mantle, and how do these stories relate to women’s sexuality today? Cite specific quotations from the texts, and explain why they are relevant to current societal issues (for example: the prude/slut dichotomy).
King Arthur & His World
ENGL 361 | Spring 2019 | Dr. Myra Seaman
In Béroul’s Tristan, it is mainly Tristan who has to suffer for the fact of the infidelity between him and Yseult. Though they both run away and live in the forest for a while, Yseult is welcomed back to King Mark’s court, but Tristan must go away and lay low to prove his faithfulness to the king. The barons who meddle in King Mark’s business do so because they want to see Tristan killed or banished; their distaste does not really extend to Yseult. However, in “Saga of the Mantle,” it is undoubtedly the woman who are exposed and shamed for their infidelity, with Sir Valen even emphasizing that “we shall never admit that a good, valiant man is reprehensible because his beloved besmirches herself with another man” [233]. Though the question of men’s fidelity is not really addressed by “Saga,” I do find it interesting that when the man and woman are both equally at fault, as in Béroul’s Tristan, it is the man who suffers the brunt of punishment. Clearly shaming women, if it wasn’t a real practice, was at least a common enough theme to be considered a joke in “Saga,” and it is certainly common today to blame women for their partner’s infidelities [if you don’t do enough to “keep your man” he will leave you or cheat on you]. Women’s sexuality is represented pretty differently in these two narratives and it makes me wonder which one was truer to real life.
In Béroul’s Tristan Yseut, if Yseut’s affair was to become public, she would be punished but it is not made public. She is able to bend the truth and say the “leper” and King Mark are the only ones who have been “between her legs.” Although it displays her intelligence I think its a degrading phrase. Similar to the Saga of the Mantle, her chastity determines her value. They praise her for these words. The Saga of the Mantle parallels to some very unfortunate aspects of society today. I couldn’t help but think of the Me Too movement and how women came forward saying they acted like a situation was okay because they were afraid of repercussion. Something very intimate is being revealed to the entire court and rather than get angry the queen “thought that if she got angry or became enraged about this in any way, she would earn shame and disgrace for having been unfaithful to such a ruler, and thus she turned everything into entertainment and diversion, into laughter, jest, and ridicule.” This is such a sad sentiment. The queen is upset but fears if she shows it bothers her it will only further hurt her reputation and has to make it into a joke. I think women often feel alone when faced with discrimination and that parallels the maiden who put the mantel on and had it break. She describes feeling alone in a large group of people. I think The Saga of the Mantle also parallels people being silent when something is wrong “Sir Valven was annoyed that the wrongdoing of his beloved was so openly manifested, he made no comment about it.” Sir Valven does not speak up even though he does not want the mantle to be placed on his beloved. The mantle being placed on the women is going against their will, the queen did not know the magical powers it had.
There is a difference in the ways that women’s sexuality is portrayed between the two narratives. In Tristan, the queen is able to portray her sexual feelings for Tristan in a way that does not undermine her social value, which at the time for a woman, would be her faithfulness to her husband. The queen often uses dramatic irony to manipulate the King and give her more agency. “may he punish me is I ever made love to anyone other than the man who took my virginity”. Mark who is listening in the tree thinks that she is referring to him, but the readers know that it is really Tristan she speaks of. In the saga, the queen is given the mantle without knowing the purpose. “She immediately blushed with shame… and paled from anger” when it did not fit. (229). So we see the queen and all the other maidens being punished for their impurity. In Tristan, the queen is never really condemned for her affair. When Mark wants to burn her the people try to intercede on her behalf. In the saga it is interesting that Karadin accepts his lady and her sexuality before the mantle is even on. He is then rewarded by having her be the one to fit the mantle.