Sara Johnson
Eng 320-01
Exam One
Sept. 21, 2009
Roles of Women
In medieval works studied in class, women were looked upon from numerous
perspectives. Some women wrote their own works, some recounted their experiences to male
scribes, while others were written about with love and adoration. The Wife of Bath, Julian of
Norwich, and the Virgin Mary were all a part of medieval storytelling from various standpoints,
but played roles that were all very different. The roles of these three women in the historical
medieval tales impacted views of women in three diverse ways. The Wife of Bath fulfilled many
stereotypes of women of the middle ages, while Julian of Norwich was much the opposite. The
Virgin Mary was synonymous to perfection and was used for comparison in many Middle
English lyrics.
The Wife of Bath from Jeffrey Chaucer’s ‘Canterbury Tales’ was everything a woman
was thought to be from medieval perspectives. She was a temptress who was the root of all evil.
Women were thought of this way because they were traced back to Eve in the Garden of Eden.
The Wife of Bath had five husbands and was eager to find her sixth. She used her female parts
as a means of getting just what she wanted out of the men she called her husbands. Her actions
earned her much money and land, but she was never happy with what she had, she always
wanted more. The Wife was a feminist whose goal was to stick it to as many men as she could.
Her role was humorous; especially to women who were used to seeing and feeling the same
stereotypes being given to themselves. The Wife knew exactly what she was doing. It was her
purpose to fulfill the stereotype and do everything she could to make life hell for her husband’s
while getting everything she wanted. The Wife of Bath’s role was far the opposite of the role of
Julian of Norwich, who was a simple woman who devoted her life to her goal to experience the
love of God in all creation.
Julian of Norwich’s role in medieval works was significant for Christianity. Julian was
an anchoress who gave her life to the church. What was different about Julian was that she
wrote her own recounts of her visions; she did not recite them to a scribe. This was significant
because she was then allowed to keep the feminism within her writing. Her visions were
intimate, mystical and emotional. Readers are allowed to see these visions through the eyes of
Julian rather than through a male who may have downplayed the intimacy of Julian’s connection
with Christ. Julian’s visions were vivid and colorful as well as sensuous and emotional. She had
the ability to take a simple object like a hazelnut into a plain truth because she saw God in all
things: “In this little thing I saw three properties. The first is that God made it, the second that
God loveth it, the third that God keepeth it” (375). This simple metaphor is used to describe not
just a hazelnut, but was an answer for all humankind and all objects. Julian’s ability to make
everything and everyone feel as though they are important to God with this simple metaphor is a
very powerful statement. Julian’s ultimate goal was to be close to God and she felt that by living
her life with a means of grace that she could experience this closeness. Her desire for grace is
mentioned often within her writing: “With him I desired to suffer, living in my deadly body, as
God would give me grace” (373). It is here that she states that suffering would be justified if she
could be given the grace from God.
The Virgin Mary’s role in Middle English Lyrics was a motherly role that was respected
and admired. Mary was the symbol of perfection and was the focus of most religious poems
from this time. In Middle English lyrics, much can be suggested without saying anything and
you are often given feelings rather than images. Writers wrote of Mary’s beauty and perfection
as a mother, but they also wrote of the sorrow she may have felt on the sad day that her son,
Jesus, died on the cross. Sunset on Cavalry was a poem filled with double meanings that
referred both of those. Although a mere four line poem, it tells a story that could fill pages in
just a few short words: “Now gooth sunne under wode: Me reweth Marye, the faire rode” (369).
In these two lines, the author is telling of his pity for Mary as the sun sets on her fair face.
Although the author describes a simple setting of the sun, readers can picture Mary’s fair, sad
face as the sun sets upon Jesus on the cross for the last time. Her role in Middle English lyrics is
still so strong today, because even today, for many, she is still the image of beauteous perfection.
I Sing of a Maiden compares the Immaculate Conception to the simple dewdrops that appear on
the grasses in April. Such a simple metaphor is used to explain one of the most important events
of our lives as believers in Christ. Mary’s beauty and grace, along with her tender loving soul
keeps readers fascinated with their mother of all that is good.
The Wife of Bath, Julian of Norwich, and the Virgin Mary all played significant roles in
medieval works of literature. The Wife of Bath offers a humorous glance into the life of a
woman doing her best to fulfill the views of which most men have of women. Although she is
not the most admirable figure, it is easy to admire her feminist approach to life. Julian of
Norwich wrote works that supported Christianity. Her visions offered hope to those who
believed in the grace of God and who were living their lives for Christ like her. The Virgin Mary
provides the opportunity to read of tragic events while seeing beauty and grace and to be given
hope as a reader. She also gave writers a fitting metaphor for so many of life’s experiences and
daily practices. The roles of these three women, though all very different, offered entertainment,
hope, and beauty to medieval literature that was enjoyed by readers and listeners back then, and
is still enjoyed today.