Justice for the women

In the story, The Book of the City of the Ladies, we see a different world through the narration.  She is lead to create an entire city by three women who represent Justice, Rectitude, and Reason. This city that is established protects women from the rude comments and actions of male counterparts.  Christine goes through each level and learns all different tools that aid in her learning her worth.  The worth is so important and shows that she should always be valued as a woman. A few questions..

1. Should she have listened and built the city? Or left well enough alone?
   
2. Is there more to the levels than what she accomplishes?
   
3. Should we see more of what happens after she completes the city?
   
   

What a Witch!

Reading the Book of Margery Kempe, I was really surprised! Surprised that they didn't just immediately throw her in the looney bin or kill her for being a witch. This might be because I am also taking the anthro class Witchcraft, Magic, and Religion and we just last week talked about all the minuscule things a person could do and would be labelled a witch. Not enough kids? Witch! Too many kids? Witch! Your neighbours can't seem to get pregnant? You're a witch! A woman couldn't even withhold sex from her husband without being considered a witch, as this was seen as gaining power over him. Margery Kempe not letting her husband bone for 8 weeks? Definitely a witch. Even if she was throwing herself around at the feet of the church and everything, that kind of behaviour was very unceremonial for church and very frowned upon, as was evident by the fact that people eventually stopped housing her on her pilgrimage.

So what do you think? Do you think Margery Kempe was really having these episodes and was a messenger of God so to speak, or do you think she a witch? Or do you think she was just going crazy from having fourteen freakin kids?

Again this is all very much mostly because I'm mentally stuck in my anthro class with how easily you can be called a witch and persecuted as such, but I will gladly list off the many many ways you could very easily be a witch if anyone so desires.

Cunning Women and Their Entrapments of Men! MWAAHAHA

Marie De France

            

(I saw this meme and thought that after all the we have read, it was pretty relevant lol!)

           Women in the majority of the stories that we have read have had to be cunning and calculating to ensure their survival. However, many of these women I feel entrap their male counterparts out of spite such as Guinevere does to Launfal because he turns her down and blatantly calls her ugly. I would like to focus on the women in Sir Launfal.

Promiscuous Queens seems to be a common thread through these stories. I kind of chuckle at the predicaments these women are able to entrap these men in. Guinevere blatantly asks Launfal to sleep with her, and for him to give her his love, and when he refuses, not only does that bait him into spilling his guts about his much fairer lady-friend, but also Guinevere takes this horribly and runs to Arthur. Of course Arthur wants Launfal’s head; he just called his wife ugly! This puts Launfal into even more of a pickle, if that’s even possible, because now Launfal is being ordered to identify his lover and we all know how his story ends.

The women in these stories are not only cunning and mischievous, but also educators of sorts. They help facilitate life lessons being learned by their male counterparts. Launfal learns to not only have a filter, especially when what you have to say may not be the nicest thing in the world, even though it may be true; he also learns that sometimes sugar coating, and kissing up to someone is better than being put on death row due to your inability to filter your verbal diarrhea. 

So… my questions to you folks are:

1)  Do you agree with my findings, and if not…PLEASE feel free to disagree!! I want your gut reactions as well as your reaction after taking a second to process. Have fun with this!! You can give examples of your own if you so choose!

2)  On the topic of sugar coating, those of you that know me well will know that sugar coating is not one my strong suites. However, do you think there is a time and place to sugar coat things and/or be more mindful of your words in Launfal’s case? Or do you think that Launfal was totally justified in saying what he said even though the repercussions of his actions were quite extreme?

3)  If you were Launfal, would you have done anything differently, and if so what would you have done differently? Keep in mind, we do know the ending…so you can use that to your advantage… i.e. would you ask someone to be standing around when Guinevere comes on to you? Would you expose her, and if so what would HER repercussions be? (Again have fun with this! Be creative and make your own twists and turns! I’m excited to see what you come up with!!!)