In Marie’s poems, we have encountered some women who are certainly not idealized, such as Guinevere in Lanval; others who serve purposes that harm other women (for instance, the husband’s sister who tells on the wife in Yonec); and others who are punished within the text for their problematic behavior (the wife in Bisclavret, and perhaps the wife in Equitan).
Consider how Manne’s definition of the term “misogyny,” in the introduction you read for class on Jan 21, applies to one or more of these (or other) examples from within the lais of Marie de France. (In particular, the question is NOT about the “naive conception” of misogyny that Manne presents on p. 18 but rather the alternative understanding of misogyny that she develops in the introduction, on p. 19 and elsewhere.)
Manne develops the idea that misogyny includes “control[ing] the behavior of others,” most particularly regarding behavior that goes against the “relevant norms or expectations” associated with gender (p. 20). This can be seen through the example of the Lais “Laustic” as the husband grows angry about the wife’s constant visits to the window (where she speaks with her lover). As she explains her love for the nightingale’s song (a code name for her lover), the husband attempts to end her trips to the window by trapping the nightingale. By removing what he assumes is the cause of his wife’s distance, he attempts to control her actions; however, he conceals this selfish need for control as a kind act to help her “rest in peace” (line 109). By controlling her actions, he therefore fits Manne’s mold of misogyny. This false sense of kindness reflects the “loving justice” that Mann describes as hiding behind misogyny (p. 20). His immediate outburst of anger over his lack of control manifests itself in the murder of the bird and his violence towards both the nightingale and the wife. This violence seems to mirror many of the examples of abuse that Manne illustrates in order to describe the many forms that misogyny can take.
Manne writes that misogyny should be understood as “primarily a property of social environments that in which women are liable to encounter hostility due to the enforcement of and policing of patriarchal norms and expectations…” (19). I think this definition of misogyny can be applied to “Equitan” through the king’s pursuit of the seneschal’s wife. He does display some amount of self-control, saying that his attempt at a relationship with the lady would upset the seneschal, but decides to pursue it anyway. When he approaches the lady about a relationship, she seems hesitant to accept even saying that once he had his “desire” he will abandon her (line 125). He continues to coerce her, telling her he offers himself to her and for her not to think of him as a king, but her servant. Despite them loving each other once they start their affair, the king seems to think she owes him a relationship simply because he wants one, and continues to get to agree to one even though she is hesitant. This makes me think of how women are seen as human givers and that some men think women should just give them what they want.
On page 19 of Manne’s introduction, she defines misogyny as being a social function that is a sort of “hostile force field that forms part of the backdrop to her actions, in ways that differentiate her from a male counterpart” (19). Depending on if she acts “accordingly” to what the misogynistic social barriers expect of her, such as playing into the role expected of her gender, then she will not be punished. But, if she goes against such social constructs, then she is deemed a “bad woman,” and is ultimately punished. From reading Manne’s Down Girl and Marie de France’s “Bisclavret,” it is easy to compare Manne’s concept of misogyny in the Medieval lai. Bisclavret, after being “tormented and pestered,” confesses to his wife that he is a werewolf, along with various other important ideas that reveal important aspects of his beast form (149). There is a sense that the wife is expected to understand her husband, who has hidden such a horrific secret from her throughout their relationship, which is why he feels as though he can trust her with is secret. In a way, he betrayed her by keeping the truth from her, yet this is not considered in the end, which further points to the misogynistic themes of the tale. Expecting him to be tangled in some sort of a love affair, she is surprised to learn of her husband’s true form; of course her correct response is fear. The wife no longer feels love for her husband, leading her to “not want to lie beside him anymore,” and to think “hard about… / how she could get away from this”(149).Yet, the audience is almost made to feel bad for Bisclavret, who transforms into the beast weekly, leaving home behind for 3 days a week. Though the reader is expected to see the wife’s actions as a sort of betrayal towards the werewolf, the wife acts out of fear and attempts to escape the beast, which, in reality, is completely reasonable. Despite being a dangerous beast, he is favored over the wife by the court, signifying that men (even male beasts) are held at a higher status than women. His actions of tearing her nose off is thus justified and the wife is punished horribly, which continues through her generations after her, for betraying her ex-husband despite him being a monster. Overall, the wife is expected to do her duty, remain loyal, and continue to love her husband despite whatever he may be, but this is unfair.
Manne, among other technical and focused definitions of the term “misogyny,” describes it as an environment “in which women are liable to encounter hostility due to the enforcement and policing of patriarchal norms and expectations” (19). The action of hostility and, overall, hatred is observable toward’s the wife of the knight who has twin boys. Due to jealousy and anger geared toward the woman’s reproductive abilities, the deceitful and cruel wife of the other knight spreads rumors that it is not possible to have twins unless “two men have done this to her” (line 42). Even further, it is stated that the mother “must pay the price” due to this misconception and, thus, her accused disloyalty to her husband. These accusations of the mother of twin boys place a target on her due to the misogynistic and cruel actions of the jealous wife.
Kate Manne begins to explain misogyny as, “functions to enforce and police women’s subordination and to uphold male dominance, against the backdrop of other intersecting systems of oppression and vulnerability, dominance, and disadvantage, as well as disparate material resources, enabling and constraining social structures, institutions, bureaucratic mechanisms, and so on” (pp 19). This definition includes the topic of the male desire to make women powerless to their demands, and in return, provide whatever is asked or told of them. This scenario is demonstrated in many stories of Marie de France, such as Laüstic (The Nightingale). In this story, a man and wife are married, however, she is in love with their neighbor, whom she expresses her love for and exchanges gifts with through their bedroom windows that look across to each other over a partitioning wall. After a while of this affair continuing on, the woman’s husband takes notice and questions her on her daily visits to the window. She tells him that she is fascinated by the song out a nightingale, and cannot sleep without listening to its soft, sweet song. As a way to bring an end to her odd behavior, her husband traps and eventually kills the bird. This example shows the offense and disrespect felt by her husband for not doing as he wishes, which is simply looking out the window as far as he knows. Although he would have been much more angered by the truth of the affair, her husband still controls her life and his desires by bringing an end to what brings her joy on her own. His mentality is, “I do not want her to have that joy, so I must immediately bring death to it.” By killing the bird, he is bringing an end to what makes her happy in her own world that he knows nothing about, yet still must control.
In Down Girl, Manne defines misogyny as, “a property of social environments in which women are liable to encounter hostility due to the enforcement and policing of patriarchal norms and expectations” and goes on to say how it includes violations of “patriarchal law and order” (19). This is demonstrated in Marie de France’s Le Fresne when the knight’s wife criticizes the other wife for having two babies at once, stating that one child is likely a product of an affair. As this rumor trickles down, “all the women who heard this, poor and rich, hated her for it” and even the husband, who eventually heard the rumor was upset and “hated his worthy wife on this account and greatly mistrusted her” (lines 55-56, 60-62). A woman having an affair violates societal norms, particularly patriarchal ones because a woman is supposed to be bound and loyal to her husband. All of society, including women, despise the wife for this possible betrayal and the husband feels the need to keep the wife “closely confined” (line 63) as a way of trying to reign in control and respect again. In this case, the wife experiences the hostility Manne is describing by the other wife, other members of society, and her husband all because she violated a rule that is patriarchal in nature. In the end, this exact misogyny affects the other wife too as she becomes pregnant with twins as well.
Manne develops the thought that misogyny is less about an inherent hatred of women, and more of a targeted disgust with women who challenge the status quo. The women who are challenging heteronormative expectations, confronting a patriarchal standard, and challenge male dominance, are the targets of misogyny. The women who are supporting patriarchal standards are seen as the ideal woman. The Bisclavret strongly reminds me of the stereotypes of an abusive relationship. The abuser is typically loved within their community and excuses are often made for the abuser as to why they act the way that they do. The woman in abusive relationships is typically withdrawn in social situations, and has trouble connecting to other people. Often, when a woman finally leaves an abusive situation, she is looked down upon for “giving up on a relationship.” When a woman makes choices for her own benefit, rather than her counterparts, it is seen as selfish. This is perpetuating the stereotype that a woman who does not unconditionally love and serve her partner is a woman not worth anything.
In Manne’s reading, on page 19, she describes misogyny as something that “functions to enforce and police women’s subordination and to uphold male dominance, against the backdrop of other intersecting systems of oppression and vulnerability…” This description fits well into Marie’s poem “Equitan,” with the treatment, and ultimate death of the lady in the story. The lady in this story is continuously objectified for her body, and made to seem that all she is fit for is to be a lover: “The lady was most beautiful / and of very good breeding; / she had a lovely body and beautiful form” (lines 31-33). All throughout the story she is constantly seen as the one that is at fault for “making” the king fall in love with her. Almost as if she had put him under some trance and convinced him to do so. The objectification of her body, and blaming her beauty for being the reason that the king falls in love with her, “his wife is the true cause of it,” further prolongs the stereotype that everything is always the woman fault, and men are never to blame for anything (line 110). This assumption is what furthers misogyny, in the sense that women are always seen as subordinate and men are always seen as dominant.
Manne describes in her opening a misogynistic belief that women are to be “givers” of love, attention, affection, and pleasure, whereas men should be the receivers of such gifts. In “Equitan,” the lady is described by the king as someone who has more than enough affection to give to her husband and that he should share the burden of receiving her as a lover. He feels that the lady owes him (and if not him, someone) the affection she does not give her husband or that her husband does not take.
A place where this belief appears to be contradicted is in “Bisclavet.” The wife is not expected to give affection, her body, or even some clothes to her husband. I think this is where we find Manne’s mention of overlapping or intersectional bigotries. Since the husband, unlike the king in “Equitan” is not a person of great power, and is labeled as “other” for being a werewolf, he is owed nothing by his wife, since his otherness precedes his privilege as a man.
When I was reading Manne’s text I couldn’t help but notice a similarity between Mary Louis Piccard’s account of her assault from her husband, Steve Bannon, and the Marie de France Lais, Laustic. Both stories involve women who attend to something in the night which wakes their husband who then becomes very angry at them. Manne’s text reads “The incident began with Bannon getting angry with his then wife, Mary Louise Piccard, for being too noisy” (15). This coincides with the story of the Nightingale when the wife “got up so often, that her husband became angry about it and asked her many times why she got up” (79-82). The reason why I find this so interesting is because of the direct connection between the medieval text and the contemporary work on Misogyny that Manne discusses. In the case of Laustic and Mary Piccard, they have “[encountered] hostility due to the enforcement and policing of patriarchal norms and expectations (i.e. waking the bear from his slumber) (19).
Manne’s text goes in depth on how women are seen as “givers” and thus the men are the ones who are the receivers of this gift. It is quite sad that men during this time period felt so entitled to get whatever they needed out of the expense of a woman.
I did find it interesting when I was reading “Bisclavet” because it was quite the opposite of the time period. The wife doesn’t owe the man anything. She is her own person and can do as she pleases. It was nice to read a different side from this time period since it wasn’t very common.