The Comportment Texts

The women are an important part of the family, however I consider the rules in the Comportment text are not fair because everything should be equal when it talks about men or women. One of the part that called my attention reading the comportment text was “Le Ménagier de Paris (c. 1385) it states “written by an aging husband to his fifteen year old wife. He stresses obedience and chastity and offers explicit instructions on running a household, including an extensive cookbook”.(comportment text, p2), this called my attention because this husband was talking about obedience and chastity to his wife, a woman who was only 15 years old and who could be his daughter. I think the rule in this texts are impossible to uphold because the women were treated as servants who did not have any right, and they were only slaves who had to do everything their husband said. An example of this is in one of my post “The Clerk’s Tale”, I talk about the story of Griselda a woman who was treated as a servant by her husband. She could not do any important decision not even about her own children because the only thing she could do was to obey and everything her husband said. Thanks God, the society today is very different the men are valuing more their wives and women are having the same opportunities as men for example they can go to school, work and make important decisions. Unfortunately, there are some countries that women are still treated as servant some of them are in the Middle East, where women have to cover their faces when they are going to the street.

The Clerk's Tale by Chauser

When the women are raised thinking that they are not important and the main thing in their lives should be to serve and obey their husband, they lose something very important, their freedom and the things they love. The story of Griselda shows us a clear image about the life of a married woman during medieval times. During the Middle Ages the married women were considered inferior to their husband and did not have the right to make important decisions about their children. They were dominated by their husband, had to serve them, obey and do everything they said. The image of the womanhood that is represented in this story is how patient and obey were the women to their husband during the Middle Age, because Griselda was a poor woman who was tested in so many horrific ways by her husband Walter and she always obeyed and did everything he said. One example of this was when in the story Walter told Griselda he was going to kill her daughter and she didn’t do anything to stop him. Another example was when Walter told Griselda he was going to send her son to live with his sister, and Griselda obediently respond: “ “I have,” said she, “said thus, and every shall: I want nothing, nor will not want any thing, But as you desire. It does not grieve me at all, Thought my daughter and my son be slain-- At your commandment, this is to say. I have no had any part of children two But fist sickness, and after, woe and pain. “you are our lord; do with your own thing Right as you desire; ask no advice from me”(Clerk’s Tale, 645-653). She supported her husband’s decision to obey and please him. As a mother, I can imagine how this poor woman was feeling without being able to do anything to save her children. However, Griselda was doing everything that a married woman during the Middle Age was supposed to do, because to obey and to serve the husband was an important tradition during medieval times. One example of this is in one of my post“ The Comportment Text”, where I talk about the rule that every married women during the Middle Age had to follow, some of them are  to serve and obey their husband, respect and do everything they wanted. Thanks God, the life of a married woman today is different because they can make important decision about themselves and their children.

　

　

The Name of the Rose by Jean-Jacques Annaud

The daily life of a lower class women in the Middle Ages was hard, the movie “The Name of the Rose” portrays a clear image about medieval times, religion and women. The women did not play a significant role, the church was the main power it had the control over poor people. The image that is represented in this movie about womanhood is that the women were treated as nothing, were poor and used as a sexual object for the monks. One example in the movie is a young girl who was going to have sex with one of the monk because she did not have anything to eat and was going to exchange sexual favor for food. For me was very sad to see how a beautiful young girl had to use the only thing she had her body, to get something to eat. Unfortunately, today this still affecting the womanhood because there are situations that push the women to use their bodies to get things they need, sometimes it can be only to protect themselves or to protect their children.