Women's Stories, Male Voices: Narratives of Female Misbehavior in Medieval Europe

Medieval narrative accounts of female misbehaviour reflect deep social perceptions and expectations grounded in ideas of gender. The women described in the twelfth-century non-fiction narratives analysed in this thesis had not behaved in an objectively "bad" way, judged by legal or moral standards. Rather, the disapproving depiction of women's behaviour reflects the author's concern with the women's goals and intentions, rather than their specific actions. In all the episodes I analysed, I found a search for autonomy and independence from social and cultural control on the part of the women. It is this wilful desire for autonomy that incurs the medieval authors' disapproval.;The first chapter focuses on marital choice, one of the few areas of medieval social life in which young women could express a certain degree of independent judgement in spite of familial, social, and cultural constraints. I argue that female resistance to outside pressure is often depicted in exaggerated misogynistic tones. On the other hand, female behaviour which inspires the approval of an author is often transposed into masculine characteristics.;In the second chapter, the focus shifts to widowhood. In narrative depictions of widows, the deep connection between the exercise of female autonomy and medieval misogynistic discourse emerges. Medieval perceptions of gender necessarily rested on the core concept of female subordination as natural and necessary to social organization. Actions that challenged this assumption were invariably cast in a negative light. Widows seeking to sever the ties that bound them to male guardians are represented in highly critical terms.