Gender Roles in Beowulf and The Decameron Essay

The Anglo- Saxon epic Beowulf and Giovanni Boccaccios Decameron tell very different stories, unless nevertheless can be said to share one(a) common literary element the theatrical of gender. twain Beowulf and many of the stories in the Decameron represent women as being the line of business to men in all respects. Beowulf is a manlike epic altogether, in which women are absent, silent or other omniscient merely a bastard that serves the world of men.In The Decameron on the other hand, although women are present in all the stories, Boccaccio makes them the victims of his irony most of the convictions, picturing them either as adulteresses or as very simple beings that completely lack cleverness, like the char who lets herself be persuaded by her lover that he is the angel Gabriel himself. However, in some(prenominal) Boccaccios tales and in Beowulf the role of the women is even more interesting to recognize when the authors intend to give a positive representation of them, in the solve of ideal women.The ideal women for the deuce texts, Griselda in Boccaccios hundred invoice and Wealhtheow in Beowulf offer indeed a good insight into the panache in which women were represented they are mean to be positive figures, tho they are ideal only insomuch as they are immaculate tools that serve in the mens world. Thus, Beowulf is as Gillian Overing nones, an absolutely masculine epic, which focuses only on heroism.The world of men is accurately constructed it is entirely smooth of mens wishes, mens actions and so on Beowulf is an irresistibly masculine poem it could be seen as a chronicle of male desire, a tale of men dyingThere is no pop for women in the masculine economy of Beowulf. (Overing, 69) Beowulf is the hero and later the king, who saves the Danish population of the powerful monster Grendel and of his mother.The very hardly a(prenominal) women who appear in the tale are mostly mentioned directly as instruments in the world of men, as pea ce-weavers more exactly, like Hrothgars daughter for example, who is mentioned directly as a promise to a certain man, as a means to bear peace to the kingdom Oft to the heroes Hrothgars daughter,/ to earls in turn, the ale-cup tendered, /she whom I comprehend these hall-companions/ Freawaru name, when fretted gold/ she proffered the warriors. Promised is she,/ gold-decked/ maid, to the glad son of Froda./ Sage this seems to the Scyldings-friend,/ kingdoms-keeper he counts it wise/ the cleaning lady to wed so and ward off feud,/ retentiveness of slaughter. But seldom ever/when men are slain, does the murder-spear sink/ save briefest while, though the bride be fair It is quite clear that this charwoman allowing probably fail even in her secondary role, as a peace maker, according to the prediction of the anonymous author. Wealhtheow, queen to Hrothgar is the only woman who is given a voice in the poem at all. Her two speeches, one addressed to her king and the other to Beowu lf mark very alpha moments in the poem, and she almost seems to have a certain power.She advises her king not to adopt Beowulf as a son, since he already has two sons of his owns, and pledges him to his ledger by offering a cup. She thus goes to Beowulf and offers another symbolic object, a neck-ring as a reward for his feats of heroism and urges him to fight again and represent death Enjoy this neck-ring with safety, Beowulf, beloved youth, and make use of this corselet, of our states treasure prosper headspring, declare yourself with strength, and be kind of counsel to these youths. I shall remember to reward you for that.You have brought it about that men shall praise you from removed and near for a long time to come. Here every nobleman is true to the other, mild of heart, loyal to his lord the thanes are united, the people willing the wine-drinking warriors do as I bid. (Beowulf, 1216-1231) In both these instances, the Danish queen seems to hold some power over the even ts and the world of men, since she performs such(prenominal) symbolic acts and since she herself declares that the warriors obey her. However, it is quite obvious that she also is an instrument erect like the other women mentioned in the text.She does not perform her own will, notwithstanding only acts as an ideal tool for men that takes the cup from one of them and gives it to another. It can be said that Wealhtheow is merely a mediator and a peace bringer in the poem, just like the other women represented. As Gillian Overing remarks, in Beowulf women serve only as mediators for the alliances between men, either done brotherhood or through symbolic, minor acts While we have no substance of guessing at Beowulfs sexuality, or at the poets or the heros personal views on marriage, we cannot ignore the strength of explicit masculine desire in the poem.Intensity and passion are located in the bonds of loyalty and friendship forged between men, and marriage is determine as an exte nsion of this larger emotional context. (Overing, 72) Thus, Wealhtheow is an ideal woman in Beowulf insomuch as she serves the purposes in mens world, her will merely coinciding with the desires of men. In the last twaddle of The Decameron, one of the very few that actually have a happy ending, Griselda the modest daughter of a shepherd is married to the Marquis of Saluzzo. Her role in the story is strikingly similar to that of Wealhtheow in Beowulf, even if the context is very different.In the story Gualtieri is a typical man, who as shown from the start, is preoccupied only with mens business, such as hunting, and despises the idea of marriage having neither wife nor child, he passed his time in naught else but in hawking and hunting, and of taking a wife and begetting children had no thought wherein he should have been accounted very wise(Boccaccio, 837) As the author declares, the idea of taking a wife would be completely unwise, suggesting that women are merely troublesome ac quisitions for men.However, Gualtieri is married at last, but chooses the daughter of a shepherd, so as to make sure she will be more likely to obey him in everything He then asked her, whether, if he took her to wife, she would study to comply with his wishes, and be not wroth, no issuing what he might say or do, and be obedient(Boccaccio, 840) aft(prenominal) a few happy years, he starts to deliberately torment his wife, through cruel acts, such as taking her children away and making her recollect they are dead or humiliating her for her base condition in front of everyone.All this is done of course to try the wifes patience and her limits in her total obedience to her husband. In the end, he makes her deliberate he is going to marry again, but instead brings her daughter, and the story ends well. The moralistic is quite evident Boccaccio attempted to portray his idea of the perfect woman, that is the woman is nothing else but an instrument of mans will.Griselda is so modest as to consider herself unworthy of any kind of regard, and so patient as to bear in silence her husband cruelty My lord, do with me as thou mayst deem best for thine own honour and comfort, for well I wot that I am of less account than they, and unworthy of this good estate (Boccaccio, 842) Her similarity to Wealhtheow is now apparent both the queen in Beowulf and Griselda are ideal women only because they serve men properly, as instruments, that do not have any will of their own.Thus, the heroines of the two texts, although they appear in very different contexts, are obviously represented in the resembling way, that is, as instruments that are in harmony with mens personal matters and desires. Their perfection comes precisely from their nullity as characters, as persons of their own will. Both of them are wives first of all, and are defined only through this role.Although their authors intended a positive representation of women through them, they are in incident just useful d evices for men, with no real consistence of their own. Works Cited Risden, Edward L. tr. Beowulf. troy Whitston Publishing, 1994. Boccaccio, Giovanni. The Decameron. New York Signet Classics, 2003 Overing, Gillian R. Language, Sign and Gender in Beowulf. Carbondale Southern Illinois University Press, 1990.