The "Chansons de Geste"

Book Review # 100770

English > Analysis
Literature > French

A discussion on whether the "Chansons de Geste" can be considered a celebration or a critique of masculinity.

2,097 words () | 4 sources | MLA | 2000 France

Paper Summary:

The paper examines how the dispute over the portrayal of masculinity in the "Chansons de Geste" is an issue full of complexity, double meanings and intents. The paper maintains that, while it seems obvious that these poems mythologise masculinity in its heroic context and are constructed as celebrations of masculinity, a closer examination reveals that, simultaneous to the aggrandising of male heroic qualities, are subtly symbolised threads of criticism woven into the text, which indicate an ironic sense of self-awareness of the genre and of its context in society.

From the Paper:

"The relationship between Raoul and Bernier has an interesting parallel in that of Roland and Oliver. Similar points are made about the differences in their motivations and characters. Roland like Raoul is the impetuous, defiantly masculine hero. Oliver as his beloved companion is (usually) the voice of reason and moderation. As in the case of Raoul de Cambrai, the Chanson de Roland has as its backbone the patriarchal crisis of loyalty to the king, and the search for a father figure. Also as in the case of Raoul, the main protagonists are a pair of male friends, again with the emphasis on the homosocial bond defining the individual - the feminine is not a reference point for the construction of the self. Roland's heroic identity is constructed around an exclusively male-dominated society in which women are merely bargaining tools between men, and also largely around his relationship with Oliver. "

Sample of Sources Used:

Raoul de Cambrai, ed. Sarah Kay, Oxford 1992
The Song Of Roland, ed. Glyn Burgess, Penguin Classics 1990
Sarah Kay, The Chansons de Geste in the Age of Romance, Oxford Clarendon Press 1995
Simon Gaunt, Gender and Genre in medieval French literature, Cambridge 1995