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King Evan's 'Inheritance In Silence'

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Silence, a romance written in the Middle Ages, deals with a girl named Silence who is raised as a boy due to the fact that the king at the time, King Evan, made a law stating that women could no longer inherit from their parents. This was after two counts had died after fighting over women. Thus, to be sure Silence would receive her inheritance, she was brought up as a boy and treated like one for about the first quarter of her life, until it is revealed at the end that she is indeed a woman. Upon the realization that she is a woman, King Evan uplifts the ban on female inheritance. He also marries Silence, who had served for the King for many years as a male. It can then be realized that the convention of the recognition scene is employed …show more content…

Because of this loss of life, King Evan declared that “no woman shall ever inherit again in the kingdom of England as long as [he] reign[ed] over the land” (pp 17). Thus, at the realization that Cador and Eufemie gave birth to a girl, they decided to raise her as a boy so that she may receive her inheritance when the time came. During her life as a boy, Silence served as a knight for the King and was loved by all, that is, until the Queen tried to take that away from him by first claiming she had been raped by him and then that he “never [stopped] trying to reduce the value of [the king’s] honor at any cost” and then also stating that Silence would not “give [her] a minute’s peace” (pp 271). Upon the first accusation, the King simply looked over it and sent Silence to France, but upon his return to England, and the following claim by the Queen, the King did not look too kindly on Silence as he had before. King Evan then sent Silence out of the kingdom to look for Merlin, in hopes that he would never be seen again. Silence was able to find Merlin however, which in turn led to the truth of her gender coming out, and thus the recognition …show more content…

Silence then admits that the Queen's cla’ms were not true and stated that she did not argue against the Queen on these claims because she “feared [the Queen] might denounce [her] and reveal [her] true nature” and she also did not want to “compromise the lady’s position as queen” (pp 310-311). After hearing this, the King comes to believe Silence, as she has no reason to lie anymore, as her biggest secret has just been announced to the public. The King then gives a speech to Silence saying that she “[had] saved [her]self by [her] loyal actions” and that he would give her his “friendship and protection” (pp 311). Because of his deep trust of Silence, the King decided to uplift his ban on female inheritance and then had his wife, the Queen Eufeme put to death for her lies. After this, Silence was “dressed as a woman” and her manly appearance was stripped away from her (pp 313). Thus, the truth came out in that Silence was indeed a woman; justice was found for her, as the Queen was caught in her lies, women could inherit again, and Silence could finally live as she truly was, a woman; and order was restored, as things could now go back to as they once

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