Many female characters in the tales Before the Tain are pregnant when introduced and that pregnancy makes up most of their character. What does it say about modern values at this time that the important women are pregnant? How does the pregnancy being a main trait of the female character effect how they are presented in the book: description, personality, background, etc?

Marie’s poems tend to focus on the desire of female character by men, such as in “Equitan” and “Le Fresnse” , rather than a woman being in love with a man. How does the man in a story “wanting” a woman and then pursuing her reflect Medieval ideals? How does the woman in “Equitan” challenge this trope?