Literature is one of the best ways to understand a culture. Through literature, in fact, it is possible to analyze the habits and customs of a particular society and understand its way of life. While the Homeric poems, for example, offer a description of life in ancient Greece and an account of the social dynamics and religious beliefs of the Greeks, tales of courtly love such as Le Morte D'Arthur and “The Tale of Dame Ragnell” they present the values ​​that any medieval knight would embody. However, these texts not only present the lifestyle of a society, but also offer a description of the different gender roles and gender dynamics typical of these eras. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Gender roles in the Iliad and the Odyssey, for example, are rigid and defined. While men are presented as valiant heroes who increase in value as they age, women are divided into three main categories: goddesses, wives and daughters, and servants. Goddesses are extremely powerful and are even superior to men, who worship them and must obey their orders. Wives and daughters are respected for their roles as husbands and fathers, but cannot take part in public life, while servants are considered nothing more than objects of male property. However, the condition of wives and daughters is particularly precarious since, in times of war, they could easily become part of the spoils of war, and, consequently, reduced to servants. A prime example of female figures in Greek literature are the Homeric characters of Athena, Penelope, and Briseis. Athena is one of the most powerful goddesses in Greek mythology and is the greatest supporter of the Greek army during the war against Troy. She is sent by Hera to talk to Achilles to convince him to fight against the Trojans again. She is so powerful that Achilles replies to her: "'Goddess, a man must respect your word, no matter how great the anger of his heart: it is right." (Homer, 218-219). Achilles' response provides a clear example of the power the Goddess exercised over men. He is so enchanted by her majesty that he changes his mind simply by hearing her words. Athena, however, continues to support the Achaeans even after the war ends. In fact, she is also a protagonist of the Odyssey: she protects Ulysses during his journey to Ithaca and facilitates his tiring journey. Penelope, Ulysses' wife, personifies all the typical value of the Greek woman. She is described as a “cautious and reserved” woman (Homer, 89), who has no freedom of choice and whose only duties are to take care of the house and be a good wife. This description of Penelope reflects the role of women in Greek society: they have no active role and can only stay at home and fulfill their domestic responsibilities. However, in the event of war, women are no longer seen as people but as objects. In Ancient Greece, in fact, when an army conquers a city, all the objects of the city, as well as all the women, become part of the spoils of war. Being part of the spoils of war, they automatically become servants. Briseis, who is Achilles' "army prize" (Homer, 420), is a concrete example of how women's freedom was the property of men. Before being Achilles' servant, she was a priestess of Apollo. Because a priestess had direct contact with the gods, Briseis's social position was superior to that of other women. However, her prestige is also diminished by her status as a woman, so much so that she is degraded to a servant always under the control of a man's authority. Twenty centuries after the publication of the Homeric poems,in courtly love literature, gender roles are no longer as defined as they were before. Even though men are always portrayed as those in power, the role of women is starting to evolve. In medieval literature, in fact, it is difficult to divide women into categories because their social roles differ from woman to woman. However, there is also a strong connection to the writing traditions of the past in which women were considered nothing more than the property of men. On the one hand there is the stereotypical idea of ​​the woman subjugated by man represented by the character of Isolde; on the other there is the innovative description of a woman who wants to be independent represented by the character of Dame Ragnell. The character of Iseult, in fact, is a clear example of how women had no decision-making power. One of the most striking pieces of evidence of his condition is the passage in which Tristan asks King Anguish for permission to marry his uncle, King Mark, to Iseult. King Anguish replies: “as for this […] you will have her with you to do with her as you like; that is, if you intend to marry her yourself, that is to me the most sincere, and if you will give her to King Mark, your uncle, that is your choice” (Malory). In this passage it is evident how Iseult could not live his life. His father entrusts all decisions regarding his future to Tristan, who can freely decide who this woman will marry. When the narrator says, “The Beale Isoud was prepared to go with Sir Tristram” (Malory), there is a further example of Iseult's passivity. In fact, it is not Isolde who prepares herself, but it is someone else who prepares her. Since Isolde is the object of the action rather than the subject, the submissive role she had in society is highlighted. Dame Regnall, on the contrary, represents an extremely modern woman. She was the victim of a spell from her evil brother who couldn't stand her independence. Forced to live a life in the body of an ugly old woman, Dame Ragnell lives hidden in the woods, far from society. When King Arthur finds her in the woods and asks for help in defeating his evil brother, she gives him the solution to the riddle. In fact, to defeat the evil wizard, King Arthur must guess what women's greatest desire is. The answer to this conundrum is: “Above all, women want the right to make their own choices!” (Lupack). This statement is an innovative concept. During middle age women were not free to make their own choices; they could however take part in court life. At these events women were forced to play the role of the perfect woman, and always had to follow etiquette. The fact that women's most sincere desire is to have free will highlights the fact that women were not free at all. Furthermore, in this story, Dame Ragnell becomes young and beautiful again when she is free to make her own choices. This transformation experienced by Dame Ragnell symbolizes all the potential of women that is not adequately exploited. If women are not free they cannot express their multiple capabilities. According to scholar E. Jane Burns, in medieval courtly love, female characters are presented with some stereotypical qualities associated with men. She argues that court ladies "[possess] a curiously hybrid gender" because they are often presented with feminine physical characteristics, but at the same time fulfill masculine positions (22). Burns also explains that in medieval texts many women do not have a defined romantic relationship with a knight, and that the clichéd concept of courtly love is not presented as often in courtly literature (26). However, as Burns points out in his article “Courtly Love: Who Needs It?” beauty and sexuality are two characteristics always associated with female courtesansmedieval (22). Indeed, Iseult is often described as la belle Iseult, while Dame Ragnell becomes a beautiful woman by the end of the poem. Burns also states that not all narratives of courtly love are masculine, but that the most famous texts focus on the character of men (30), so in the collective imagination there is this idea of ​​a medieval man who governs the relationship . Burns further argues that: We have a sense of women not as actors absent or removed from the world of the court, but as protagonists operating within a sphere of love that they have substantially remapped and reshaped. These courtly ladies […] offer models of female subjectivity and desire that challenge us to rethink the terms of love and action in both the medieval and modern worlds, not only for female protagonists but also for their male counterparts. The medieval heroines considered here suggest a type of action that is not conscious, controlled or overt; nor is it an expression of autonomous and individual will. […] The complex social positioning of these women in love demonstrates that we cannot understand them as dominant, entitled, or active speakers. But neither are they simply submissive, powerless, silent, or passive actors (49). Burns explains that medieval women should not be seen only in relation to their lack of free will, but should be considered for the new role they have in romance. While the majority of women in these texts wait for the man to complete the engagement process, there are many examples of women actively taking part in the process. To better understand how the perception of the genre has changed over the years, it is necessary to compare the different characters of the stories. While the perception of male characters hasn't changed, the perception of female characters has. The male characters of Homeric poems, as well as the male characters of courtly love literature, are heroic, famous and valiant figures. Yet the female characters of Penelope, Briseis and Iseult are devoid of personality and change depending on how people perceive them, while the character of Dame Ragnell is described as an independent woman with a strong personality. The only character who can be considered an exception is Athena, who is a goddess and cannot be compared to man. It is evident that in the twenty centuries that passed from the publication of the Homeric Poems to the publication of courtly love stories, the way in which women were described in literature changed. Although there are still many circumstances in medieval poems where women have no freedom, there are also some examples of women starting to declare their independence. However, even when women wish to be independent, there is often a male character who wants to hinder their freedom and who turns the protagonists' achievement of independence into a very long process. Women cannot claim to be independent and simply act as if their condition is accepted; they should fight and suffer if they really want to be free. Women's self-determination is, however, a totally new concept that was not present in the Greek literary tradition. For the Greeks, the idea that a woman could make her own choices, that she could participate in public life and act according to her free will, was inconceivable. The main difference found between the way women were described in ancient Greek literature and the way they were presented in medieval works is that Greek women were totally under the control of male authority, while medieval women they are still subject to the will of a man, but they also reclaim their need for freedom. Work Cited Burns, Jane E. “Love, 2017.