The Chivalrous and Feminist King: How the Arthurian Legends Chronicled the Formation of Two Gender Identities

<p>Literature is often a product of its time, though some works can be said to be more indicative of the time period they came from than others. This thesis inspects Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur and Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon, not only as products of their time but also as works that illuminate the formation of gender identity within their respective time periods. Malory’s unique experience as an acting knight throughout the fifteenth century influenced his version of the existing legends of Arthur and his court injecting then-current chivalric ideals into the text. Bradley worked to write a text focusing on these very same masculine legends that responded to them with a feminine retelling which was influenced by the second wave of the feminist movement that Bradley lived through. Pulling from various medieval and feminist scholars, this thesis argues the validity and representation of both author’s works while explaining why Bradley’s revision was needed and how it unifies the past legends centered around Arthur with a more unified and equal future. </p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English and Theatre

Grantor dc:publisher

Eastern Kentucky University

Year

2019

Author dc:creator

• Pickle, Gary Andrew

• Arthur
• Arthurian
• Avalon
• Camelot
• Chivalry
• Feminism
• English Language and Literature

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2019 Gary Andrew Pickle

Repository record dc:identifier

https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/640

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:encompass.eku.edu:etd-1638