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Wounded Masculinity: Injury and Gender in Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte Darthur

Wounded Masculinity: Injury and Gender in Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte Darthur by Ngenderstudies,criticsfrequentlypostulateamasculineidealof suave and potent invulnerability and then demonstrate how the malecharactersinquestioninevitablyfallshortofit.BryceTraister hasofferedathoroughcritiqueofthistendencyinAmericanstudies, arguing that the focus on "transcendent" masculinityobscures study of "competent" masculinity--ideas of manliness as they are actually practiced.unfortunately,thesametendencycanbeseeninmedieval studies.Whileinvulnerabilityandeasypowermaybefantasiesforindividualmen,thesedaydreamsdonotreflectthemorerealisticidealsof manhood expressedinaworksuchas SirThomasMalory'sLe Morte Darthur. Even the best of Arthur's knights are frequently injured in battle, needing time, help, and protection as they recuperate. Malory doesnottreatthesewoundsasfailurestoachieveadreamofinviolate masculinity; instead, injuries are integral to masculinityas it is practiced and celebrated.Wounds not only provide meaning to knightly combatsbutalsoeducateyoungknights.Theyalsoprovidepartofthe basisforcommunity,asknightserrantbondwiththeirhealersorreturn totheircompanionsandcourtsforhealing.Thus,althoughobviously not desirable in and of themselves, thewounds are necessary for the narrativeandpartofthechivalricidealofmanhood. To explain adequately the role that wounds play in constructing masculineidentitiesandcommunities,wemustabandontheideathat knighthooddependson"aconstructofmasculinityaswholeandinvioTraister, "Academic Viagra: The Rise of American Masculinity Studies," American Quarterly52(2000):274­304. 14 ©2009TheuniversityofNorthCarolinaPress late"(withthecorollarythatinjuriesfeminizemen).Instead,Andrew Lynch's recognition that "wounds are noble" needs to be developed further.Inparticular,ifmasculinityisunderstoodasintrinsicallyvulnerable,howismalevulnerabilitydifferentiatedfromfemaleweakness? Whydowomengettreatedasthevulnerableclass,assignedspecialprotectionsintheRoundTableoath,whenmenareliterallyfarmorevulnerable? Woundsdonotmarkfailuresintheefforttobeknightly.Although eachwoundmightbesaidtoresultfromafailuretowardablowproperly, the inevitability of this happening some times even to the best knights means knights had to deal with the fact that they would be hurt.Medievalsourcestestifytothethoroughunderstandingthatbeing injuredwasanessentialpartofknighthood,evenforthebestknights. GeoffroideCharny,whenhecomparesknighthoodtoreligiousorders, emphasizestheinjuriesthatknightsregularlysuffer.Likewise,Margery Kempeusesknightsasseemingcommonplaceimagesofbodilypainand penance.Malory'sGawainunwiselymakesasimilarargumentinthe Grailquest:"Imaydonopenaunce,forweknyghtesadventuresmany tymessuffirgretewooandpayne."Gawainisaformidableknight,and yetheautomaticallyassumesthatknightswillbeinjured.Indeed,the onlyknightinLe Morte Darthurthatseemstoescapewithoutserious injuryisGalahad. Thesecelebrationsofknightlysufferingasadmirablepenancemean that injury was not simply a messy historical fact edited out of the KathleenCoyneKelly,"Malory'sBodyChivalric,"Arthuriana6,no.4(1996):54. Lynch, Malory's Book of Arms: The narrative of Combat in "Le Morte Darthur" (Cam- bridge:D.S.Brewer,1997),76. The http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Studies in Philology University of North Carolina Press

Wounded Masculinity: Injury and Gender in Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte Darthur

Studies in Philology , Volume 106 (1) – Jan 11, 2008

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Publisher
University of North Carolina Press
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 The University of North Carolina Press
ISSN
1543-0383
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Abstract

by Ngenderstudies,criticsfrequentlypostulateamasculineidealof suave and potent invulnerability and then demonstrate how the malecharactersinquestioninevitablyfallshortofit.BryceTraister hasofferedathoroughcritiqueofthistendencyinAmericanstudies, arguing that the focus on "transcendent" masculinityobscures study of "competent" masculinity--ideas of manliness as they are actually practiced.unfortunately,thesametendencycanbeseeninmedieval studies.Whileinvulnerabilityandeasypowermaybefantasiesforindividualmen,thesedaydreamsdonotreflectthemorerealisticidealsof manhood expressedinaworksuchas SirThomasMalory'sLe Morte Darthur. Even the best of Arthur's knights are frequently injured in battle, needing time, help, and protection as they recuperate. Malory doesnottreatthesewoundsasfailurestoachieveadreamofinviolate masculinity; instead, injuries are integral to masculinityas it is practiced and celebrated.Wounds not only provide meaning to knightly combatsbutalsoeducateyoungknights.Theyalsoprovidepartofthe basisforcommunity,asknightserrantbondwiththeirhealersorreturn totheircompanionsandcourtsforhealing.Thus,althoughobviously not desirable in and of themselves, thewounds are necessary for the narrativeandpartofthechivalricidealofmanhood. To explain adequately the role that wounds play in constructing masculineidentitiesandcommunities,wemustabandontheideathat knighthooddependson"aconstructofmasculinityaswholeandinvioTraister, "Academic Viagra: The Rise of American Masculinity Studies," American Quarterly52(2000):274­304. 14 ©2009TheuniversityofNorthCarolinaPress late"(withthecorollarythatinjuriesfeminizemen).Instead,Andrew Lynch's recognition that "wounds are noble" needs to be developed further.Inparticular,ifmasculinityisunderstoodasintrinsicallyvulnerable,howismalevulnerabilitydifferentiatedfromfemaleweakness? Whydowomengettreatedasthevulnerableclass,assignedspecialprotectionsintheRoundTableoath,whenmenareliterallyfarmorevulnerable? Woundsdonotmarkfailuresintheefforttobeknightly.Although eachwoundmightbesaidtoresultfromafailuretowardablowproperly, the inevitability of this happening some times even to the best knights means knights had to deal with the fact that they would be hurt.Medievalsourcestestifytothethoroughunderstandingthatbeing injuredwasanessentialpartofknighthood,evenforthebestknights. GeoffroideCharny,whenhecomparesknighthoodtoreligiousorders, emphasizestheinjuriesthatknightsregularlysuffer.Likewise,Margery Kempeusesknightsasseemingcommonplaceimagesofbodilypainand penance.Malory'sGawainunwiselymakesasimilarargumentinthe Grailquest:"Imaydonopenaunce,forweknyghtesadventuresmany tymessuffirgretewooandpayne."Gawainisaformidableknight,and yetheautomaticallyassumesthatknightswillbeinjured.Indeed,the onlyknightinLe Morte Darthurthatseemstoescapewithoutserious injuryisGalahad. Thesecelebrationsofknightlysufferingasadmirablepenancemean that injury was not simply a messy historical fact edited out of the KathleenCoyneKelly,"Malory'sBodyChivalric,"Arthuriana6,no.4(1996):54. Lynch, Malory's Book of Arms: The narrative of Combat in "Le Morte Darthur" (Cam- bridge:D.S.Brewer,1997),76. The

Journal

Studies in PhilologyUniversity of North Carolina Press

Published: Jan 11, 2008

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