Mademoiselle De Chartres The Aristocrat Woman

The Courtier, originally written as a “courtesy book”, can now be considered to provide significant insight into the norms and practices associated with courtship and gender during the Renaissance era. The book’s third volume is a particularly insightful window into 16th century romantic ideals. Throughout Book Three, Baldassare Castiglione builds an elaborate perspective on what makes the perfect court lady, what sexual and social behavior is acceptable, and how an ideal couple (both courtier and court lady) should function.

In her story she used the old lady to represent her. The old lady makes a condition with this knight and they get married but he did not want to marry her. While they are married the old lady has these talks with the knight about being a respectful and accepting her as her: “No shame in poverty if the heart is gay, As seneca and all learned say./Lastly you taxed me with being old.Yet even if you never have been told by ancient books, you gentlemen engage,yourselves in honour to respect old age”(290).The knight becomes ashamed of her for all her flaws, but the old lady tells him that this should not matter to him and being a knight these virtues should be obvious to him. She gives him a choice of how their marriage will continue on: “You have two choices; which one will you try? To have me old and ugly till I die, but still a loyal, true, and humble wife that never would displease you all her life, or would you rather I were young and pretty and chance your arm what happens in a city where friends will visit you because of me, yes and in other places too maybe”(291). In this scenario she gives him two choices for the fate of their marriage. He explains to her whatever she wants to do he will submit: “And have i won the mastery? Said she, since i'm to choose and rule as i think fit? Certainly wife, he

In the primary source, it talks about women from the upper class who gain prestige and power through widowhood. While lower class women had more freedom in their early life with work and marriage, upper class women were pressured to keep the wealth going throughout generations which led to a great deal of pressure to marry a rich man and benefit from that in any way that they could. The source focuses on a woman named Alessandra, who lived in the years between 1450-1465; married a wealthy merchant, named Matteo Strozzi, who then died of the plague thus leaving her with branches of businesses all across Europe and a sudden new access to these things that her husband previously took charge of. She talked to her sons about their role in the family with political, marital, and economical issues and duties for the family. She talked to her daughters about the men they should strive to marry and the duties they have at home that they should learn and do to

During the medieval times, Marie de France, unlike the male writers of her time, wrote courtly stories that depicted women who were predominantly featured in the primary roles with empathy and questioned the sexist predicaments women were often subjected to. Women often times struggled to find their voice, but her stories told the perseverance and progress within those constraints. Instead, she wrote of men idealizing wealthy, powerful, independent, beautiful women. She inserts the thoughts and feelings from a woman’s perspective. In a sense, giving women the voice they strived to have heard in a male dominated time period. As Damon stated in the article “Marie de France: Psychologist of Courtly Love,” “Contemporary readers might have noted that the characters departed occasionally from the established laws of courtly conduct; none the less, as all such departures were towards reality, they were welcomed.” She opened the door for women’s self-expression and individual achievement. Marie de France’s popular adulterous love stories bring about many fascinating ethical questions.

During the eighteenth century, marriage was a representation of not only the unity between man and women but it was also a representation of a woman taking a servile, less meaningful role in the household. Once married, women were expected to be completely submissive to their husbands. This was the norm across Europe and even in enlightened society. These relationships were hierarchical. It was not customary for women to attend schools that educated men the math and sciences. Women holding privileged positons in society traditionally allotted to men were seen as the exception. Yet these exceptions did not generally bother society because they did not lead to certain conclusion that women could do anything. In Gotthold Lessing’s novel “Nathan the Wise” and Francoise de Graffigny’s “Letters from a Peruvian Woman”, both authors upset traditional expectations about what constitutes a novel’s happy ending by refusing to end either of their novels with weddings. In Lessing’s “Nathan the Wise”, the rejection of marriage plot reflects a larger symbolic representation of religious tolerance. While in Graffigny’s novel “Letters from a Peruvian Woman”, the rejection of marriage plots illustrates a woman whose circumstances would make her the exception. Zilia, Graffigny’s main character, was an enlightened woman who chose sovereignty over servitude. Therefore, I would argue that the intentions behind both Lessing and Graffigny’s rejection of the marriage plot was not to serve the same

Marie de France lived in a time when social graces were paramount to a good reputation, lordships and to securing good marriages. A woman was considered less valuable if she lost her virginity; a wife was subjected to her feudal lord, father, brother or son after her husband’s death. According to Angela Sandison’s article “The Role of Women in the Middle Ages”, this was because in the Middle Ages the Church and the aristocracy controlled public opinion and the legal system. These authorities of the times believed a woman’s place was in a submissive role to a man. In The Lay of the Nightingale, we will see how this social and religious hierarchy will impact the behaviors of the three people involved.

Portrayal of Women in La Belle Dame Sans Merci, Lady of Shalott, My last Duchess, and Porphyria's Lover

In choosing to present the ideas of liberated women to the group, The Decameron becomes important when measured in the context of the queen’s story because her story of Narbonne (IX, III) also depicts a courageous, outspoken woman who defies the traditional role and eventually wins herself a very honorable man. Through the story of Narbonne, the queen brings a narration evocative of the social order from which some women escaped. In the Middle Ages, “[woman were] not allowed a say in the government of the kingdom or of society. [They were] prohibited from holding any political, professional or public office.” (Sandison). It can be inferred that women who tried to influence government officials and make their own decisions received a barrage of criticism in Boccaccio’s era. Some people may attempt to interpret the story of Narbonne as misogynistic because they probably despised women who tried to influence kings or other nobles by acting out of their expected roles. Through the story of Narbonne, however, Boccaccio proves them wrong. In the story, Gilette of Narbonne endeavors to win her lover, Bertrand of Rousillon, by curing the King of France and using her wits to convince Bertrand to acknowledge her as his wife. After curing the King of France, unlike other contemporary women, she demands that the King give her Bertrand as her husband. Moreover, she uses her wits to win her love when she

The 18th century was a time where there were very strong gender norms that were strictly followed. But in Eliza Haywood's Fantomina, those gender norms are challenged with the creation of a cunning, and manipulative female protagonist. We are given a text that empowers the main character, Fantomina, throughout the story and shows us a woman's power to exercise their control over men. As a women of a higher class, Fantomina would have been expected to follow a certain code of conduct and uphold a good reputation. However, her ability to deceive Beauplaisir shows her power over him, as well as her skill and intelligence.

Wealth and property feature heavily in the wife’s portrayal of marriage and along with the issue of her independence is responsible for many of her marital conflicts. The first three husbands "riche and olde" were married each for "hir land and hir tresoor" then discarded as the Wife looks for other prospects. When one of these husbands tries to restrict the Wife’s spending she refuses to let him be both "maister of my body and of my good" so refuses sexual favours in return for her freedom as she will not become a mere possession. She generalizes that women "love no man that taketh or keepth charge" suggesting an element of independence and individualism in 14th century marriage. The wife resents being controlled; she

Madame Danglars is the ironic equal of Monsieur Danglars. Much like him she is a cunning woman, who has been able to hide her secrets away from Parisian society. The marriage between the baron and the baroness are, however, strained or almost non-existent, as both have only continued to remain spouses through image but nothing else. She is also a woman who knows intrigue when she hears of it, as she has developed an interest in the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo.

Mademoiselle de Chartres exemplifies the most desirable qualities of her time and a conformity to these societal standards. "A faultless beauty," Mademoiselle de Chartres was also well educated, well spoken, and of high rank - "one of the greatest matches in France" (117). Such a character would make a good friend as she was well versed in the perils of relationships by her mother, Madame de Chartres. She was raised in a household that emphasized living a virtuous life and the happiness and distinction that living such a life brought. This character is an example of perfection in the setting of The Princess of Cleves, where beauty and power are of the greatest importance. A sense of duty acts a guide for the main character, as she is guided

The Chartres Cathedral(Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres) is a French Gothic architecture found in the Medieval town of Chartres 50 miles from Paris. It is ranked as an example of the gothic French architecture, it is not only known for its architectural innovations but it is also known for the numerous sculptures and its stained glass. The cathedrals alliance with the Virgin Mary made it with the destination for the pilgrims in the middle ages. Chartres is the only cathedral that projects an almost perfect image of how it looked when it was built.

“Useless Beauty” is the story of Countess de Mascaret and her husband, Count de Mascaret. During their eleven-year marriage, they have seven children and the Countess has fallen deaf to otiose adulation from her husband. The Countess feels as though her husband loves her only because he asserts claim over her youth and life, over her ability to have children. He loves their children not as a father but again as a victory over her youth and life. One day the

During the Middle Ages, Courtly love was a code which prescribed the conduct between a lady and her lover (Britannica). The relationship of courtly love was very much like the feudal relationship between a knight and his liege. The lover serves his beloved, in the manner a servant would. He owes his devotion and allegiance to her, and she inspires him to perform noble acts of valor (Schwartz). Capellanus writes, in The Art of Courtly Love, “A true lover considers nothing good except what he thinks will please his beloved”. The stories of Marie de France and Chrétien de Troyes illustrate the conventions of courtly love.