Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Palgrave Macmillan
Book cover

Women of Words in Le Morte Darthur

The Autonomy of Speech in Malory’s Female Characters

  • Book
  • © 2016

Overview

Authors:
  1. Siobhán M. Wyatt

    1. University of Cambridge, London, United Kingdom

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Provides a comprehensive examination of Malory’s female characters, inspiring future studies on the topic
  • Discusses a widely neglected topic within Arthurian Studies: the voice of the female character
  • Offers a wealth of information, sources, and archival material to contextualize Malory’s perspective on women.

Part of the book series: Arthurian and Courtly Cultures (SACC)

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this book

Log in via an institution
eBook USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

Licence this eBook for your library

Institutional subscriptions

Table of contents (6 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xi
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction

    • Siobhán M. Wyatt
    Pages 1-13

  3. The Ill-Speaking Woman and the Marriageable Lady

    • Siobhán M. Wyatt
    Pages 15-58

  4. Magical and Miraculous Women

    • Siobhán M. Wyatt
    Pages 59-106

  5. ‘Whyle She Might Be Suffirde’: Ladies In (Unrequited) Love

    • Siobhán M. Wyatt
    Pages 107-138

  6. True Lovers and Adulterous Queens

    • Siobhán M. Wyatt
    Pages 139-181

  7. Conclusion

    • Siobhán M. Wyatt
    Pages 183-186

  8. Back Matter

    Pages 187-203
    Download chapter PDF
Back to top

Keywords

About this book

Offering a new reading of Malory’s famed text, Le Morte Darthur, this book provides the first full-length survey of the alterations Malory made to female characters in his source texts. Through detailed comparisons with both Old French and Middle English material, Siobhán M. Wyatt discusses how Malory radically altered his French and English source texts to create a gendered pattern in the reliability of speech, depicting female discourse as valuable and truthful. Malory’s authorial crafting indicates his preference for a certain “type” of female character: self-governing, opinionated, and strong. Simultaneously, the portrayal of this very readable “type” yields characterization. While late medieval court records indicate an increasingly negative attitude towards female speech and a tendency to punish vociferous women as “scolds,” Malory makes the words of chiding damsels constructive. While his contemporary writers suppress the powers of magical women, Malory empowers his enchantress characters; while the authors of his French source texts accentuate Guinevere’s flaws, Malory portrays her with sympathy.



Reviews

“Wyatt’s work makes for an interesting and thought-provoking read, and will be informative for scholars of women and gender in Malory, as well as those with an interest in his use of Arthurian source material. It suggests other potentially fruitful areas of study for future scholars to explore and develop, including the effect of medium (letters, spoken word) on the female voice and construction of character in Arthurian literature.” (Rebecca E. Lyons, Modern Language Review, Vol. 114 (3), July, 2019)

Authors and Affiliations

  • University of Cambridge, London, United Kingdom

    Siobhán M. Wyatt

About the author

Siobhán M. Wyatt received her PhD in Medieval Literature from the University of Cambridge, UK. She recently published an article in Arthuriana.



Bibliographic Information

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Back to top

Search

Navigation