Character Tropes of Women in Medieval Literature Throughout the Medieval period, women were viewed as second class citizens, and their needs always were an afterthought. They were either held to be completely deceitful, sexual, innocent, or incompetent. Therefore, women were mostly withheld from positions of power or speaking their voice; males made decisions for them, and their lives were dictated by the men that ran the society.
Despite their lack of validation and suppression, however, women in Medieval literature were certainly present in many works and in various forms. Some tropes feed into the idea that women are subservient and inferior to men such as the Virgin, which portrays females as passive and weak, or the mother whose very life circles around making a better life for her family and especially for her husband, or even the whore who has no power in her sexuality and must give it away for the well being of her family or the men in society.
However, there are some archetypes that break this cycle like the Trickster or Witch who break the social norms and stand out, displaying qualities of cunning intelligence, intimidation, and power. The sections below will dive deeper into the disparity between how women were viewed in Medieval society and how they were portrayed in the literature of the time. If an unwed woman were to appear in literature back in Medieval times, she would almost indefinitely be made into a virtuous, pure woman.
Like many tropes in literature, this character ideology originated in The Bible. Saint Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, also called The Virgin Mary, is the first notable person recorded with this all around encompassing identity.
Mary took a vow of virginity and remained faithful to it her entire life, despite giving birth to a child. Mary was so pure of character that her pregnancy was an immaculate conception. The angel Gabriel came to her and told her she would bear the son of God. Mary lived her life completely within the parameters of being a perfect Christian woman.
