14th- and 15th-century England saw significant social changes in the rise of the merchant class, the expiration of feudalism, the competition for the nobility, and the struggle of nation to form a cohesive group identity and national security. All of this resulted in general social and political instability that caused citizens to reevaluate and reconstruct internal identities and roles in society, particularly as the class structure in England was constantly altered. Sir Thomas Malory himself appeared to experience and internalize this fluctuation and resulting confusion over identity, evidenced by his turbulent public reputation and lifestyle. The confusion and struggle over one's personal identity and the identity that society imposes has been depicted not only through discourse and social relationships, but also through literature. In his work Le Morte D'Arthur, Malory indeed addresses such issues of identity in the 14th and 15th centuries and within himself, projecting the phenomenon of constructed identity onto his main character, King Arthur. In the following essay, I argue that Arthur's identity is a social construct inextricably linked to his kingship that must be accepted, believed in, and enacted by Arthur. To do this, I will delve into Judith Butler's theories in Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory. In this work, Butler asserts that gender is a “constituted” or “constructed” identity that humanity feels “forced by social sanctions and taboos” to “represent in the mode of faith” (519–520). I apply and adapt Butler's assertions to the examination of Arthur's identity in this essay, demonstrating that his identity apart from gender similarly "suffers from a certain cultural construction", and that he too comes to believe in this identity constituted and “performa[s]” it (Butler, 520 and 523). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay There are several distinct events in Le Morte d'Arthur in which Arthur's identity is socially constructed and constrained by cultural expectations, just as Butler argues the gender is the first which occurs even before Arthur's conception. Arthur's fate and identity are prophesied and predetermined by Merlin in the first book of Malory's work, speaking of the “great importance of the child” (Malory, 4) to come (Arthur). By vocalizing what must be his identity in greatness and importance, Merlin becomes the first to construct the fundamental identity of Arthur's being. This construction becomes social as Merlin shares these expectations with Uther, and with this speech a society's initial expectations for Arthur as a great and important king, albeit only the small two-man society, are espoused and provide a streamlined foundation for similar future constructions that establish Arthur's identity with his “greatness” and nobility. Subsequently, the affairs between Uther and Igraine, otherwise known as Uther's seduction of Igraine in the guise of her recently deceased husband, similarly establish Arthur's identity as king. During their time together, the two literally create Arthur's being, but by extension they also construct his identity through the rules of lineage. As Uther's only male heir, Arthur is required by law to take the throne, and his identity is therefore constituted by the norms of society that force him into the position of king as soon as he is conceived. Butler argues that identity is often “constrained by available historical conventions” (Butler 521), and so it is with Arthur, whose identity is constrained to the title “king” by traditional lines ofsuccession. Shortly after Arthur's birth, the formulation of his unique identity and birthright as king persists vocally, first when Uther is on his deathbed, while Merlin asks: "Sire, your son Arthur shall be of this kingdom after you with all your goods?" to which the king responds in the affirmative, saying "I give him God's blessing and my own, and ask him to pray for my soul, and rightly and piously claim the crown in case of loss of my blessing" (Malory, 6), and then once again as Merlin proclaims to the people of the kingdom that Jesus himself, at Christmas, "would show by some miracle who would be the right king of the kingdom" (Malory, 6). the men who began Arthur's established identity by discussing their expectations of him continue their work, inviting Arthur to take the throne, even taking it from him second, Merlin spreads Arthur's identity as “king.” beyond the society of the two men and into the world with which Arthur will immediately have to interact and respect its rules. The final case that exposes the ongoing communal construction of Arthur's identity. as king in the first chapters of Le Morte d'Arthur is found in the inscription on the stone that holds Arthur's future sword. It reads: “HE WHO TAKES OUT THIS SWORD OF THIS STONE AND THIS ANVIL IS BORN A RIGHTEOUS KING OF ALL ENGLAND” (Malory, 7). The inscription imparts a very specific and seemingly simple standard for the man who draws the sword; let him be king. This is in accordance with the passages mentioned above which legally and orally accuse Arthur to the same standard. Thus the social construct of Arthur's identity is initiated, extended, and completed; from Merlin's affirmations to Uther of Arthur's kingship, the "just" and "great" king of England carefully chosen by divinity and destiny, Arthur's expectations of maintaining a certain identity connected to the title of "king" spread up to and including the entire society that Arthur will come into contact with as he grows up and attempts to define himself separately from his nobility. In these events, both before and after Arthur's birth but before his accession to the throne, Merlin eternally ties Arthur to kingship and causes all of society to do the same, making it clear that Arthur's future position as king of England it is “not predetermined by some kind of inner essence” (Butler, 521), but is fabricated through social interactions. Although the English do not know who this divine monarch will be, they already have expectations of him upon his arrival, working to construct his identity before he himself is even aware of his true lineage or is forced to assume a certain role in the world. Arthur was not born king; it is made so by the laws and constitutions of society, just as Simone de Beauvoir says that a woman is not born a woman, but becomes one (Butler, 519). Arthur's identity follows the stereotypical construction of gender that Butler presents in her work, stating that gender is “an identity loosely constituted over time, an identity established through a stylized repetition of acts” (519). In reiterating Arthur's identity through the numerous instances or “acts” mentioned above, Malory constructs Arthur's identity as king in much the same way that Butler indicates that gender is constructed in society. The expectations assigned to the adolescent from before birth are finally projected onto Arthur as he pulls the sword from the stone; in doing so, Arthur simultaneously imposes on himself the already existing identity and the expectations that will forever accompany “those who draw the sword” (Malory, 7). Although he has been prophesied and promised the throne since before his birth, even as God himself chooses him as king, Arthur initially struggles to accept the identity imposed on him in this moment. TOBecause of this uncertainty, according to Butler, Arthur's identity is not yet "established". He has not yet entered the “faith mode,” has not yet been convinced of the “irresistible illusion” of his forced identity, and has not yet “performed” his identity (Butler, 519-520). He accepts his new identity. role over time, but he does not do it because he feels he is the true king of Camelot or because he believes that being king coincides with his inner essence, but because the only father he has ever known tells him explicitly, as he has already done rest of society, who must be king; “I understand that you must be king of this land…for God wills it so, for never should a man have drawn this sword unless he had rightfully been king of this land” (Malory, 8). Once again, Arthur only admits why he is "indebted" to Sir Ector, fearing the thought of "failing" or disobeying him (Malory, 8). Arthur also temporarily accepts the burden of kingship due to the pleas of his subjects. As soon as his achievements are recognized, society, in due form, assumes that Arthur will accept the throne, crying: “We will have Arthur as our king. We will not delay him again because we see that it is God's will that he be our king…” (Malory, 9). Ultimately, Arthur gives in to the demands of his closest society, his subjects, and his father, agreeing to assume the identity of "a true king... thenceforward all the days of his life" (Malory, 9). These facts, in addition to the previously discussed events that initially construct Arthur's identity as king, are further evocative of Butler's theory that identity is fabricated by external factors rather than internal intuitions, as well as his belief that a One of the main reasons people stick to invented identity rules is fear of social punishment. With all the previous establishment of Arthur's identity long established, the boy has no choice but to uphold the expectations and take them upon himself after obtaining the sword; as a young man, Arthur has not yet had the opportunity to come to his own conclusions about his identity, he has not been given time to build it himself, to discover what his internal essence truly is. Because of this, his inexperience and youth, Arthur completely submits to the preordained notions and indivisible identity of royalty, making this his only identity, believing as humans are wont to do that what society tells you to be, you are automatically. Yet Arthur doesn't take on the character just because of his inexperience. Butler argues that people often respect and perform traditional gender roles and stereotypes because “those who do not respect their gender rights are severely punished” with “clearly punitive consequences” (Butler, 522), and so we can assume that this is the case for Arthur and his identity as king, especially since he explicitly states that he accepts kingship because he fears the consequences of “failing” his family or his subjects. Arthur acts in this way, as Butler says we all do with gender identity, “in obedience to a historically delimited possibility” and “in accordance with certain sanctions and prohibitions” (Butler, 522 and 525), i.e. standards and expectations of Arthur's subjects as outlined above. Although Arthur's identity has long been constituted by society and constrained by historical circumstances, and although he has become more accustomed to the imposed identity and adopted it at least outwardly by the time of his battle with the twelve kings, the formation of Arthur is incomplete in that the identity has not been repeatedly enacted and is not fully assimilated into Arthur's being; For the identity to come completely.