The problem of gender harmony in early English epic and romance literature.

摘要

The relationships between rulers and heroes are central to many early works of epic and romantic literature. A close examination of several of these works reveals that the ruler/hero relationship may be analogous to relationships between feminine and masculine elements of Western culture. The ruler, even when male in gender, have affinities to the feminine, while warrior heroes have powerful masculine traits. The feminine elements possessed by rulers include fecundity, generosity, wisdom instead of physical might, a static and stable position as the center around which a civilization gathers, and a concern for the good of the community placed above a concern for personal profit. The masculine traits of the hero include great physical strength and martial prowess, associations with death-giving rather than with life-creating, a tendency to move rather than to remain settled in a single location, and a great concern for personal gain and glory.;Some textual evidence suggests that several early works of English literature may have origins in the myths of goddess-worshipping religions in pre-Christian Europe. The works studied here are Beowulf, Sir Launfal, Sir Degare, Sir Gowther, Sir Orfeo, and Sir Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur. The evidence of possible origins in myths of goddess worship may be outward manifestations of a struggle between feminine and masculine elements in human society. The works studied here show, through their depictions of interactions between rulers and heroes, that from the perspectives from which these works are presented the best situation for human society is one in which ruler and hero, feminine and masculine, exist in harmony and offer mutual support in times of crisis. Without such cooperation cultures depicted in these works are destroyed.