Above Rubies: Popular Views of Medieval Women

Shirley Marchalonis' essay suggests that it is not always so easy to define the medieval attitude toward womerz in such clear‐cut terms as the virgin or the whore. Nonetheless, Marchalonis admits that the courtly lady of the romances comes awfully close to the passivity of the Virgin Mary. The courtly lady in the romances plays only a minor role i n many instances; she is the prize, more often than not, of the hero at the end of the story. At best, she is a vehicle ofpassive virture, acted upon rather than acting. Obviously such a role is admired: the woman stays within her boundaries, which are defined by men, and so is respected and desired. One of the popular images of women, i n the medieval world at least, is one of dependence; women exist as complements to men.