I consider myself a recovering patriarchal woman. By patriarchal woman, I of course mean a woman who has internalized the norms and values ​​of patriarchy, which can be defined, in short, as any culture that privileges men by promoting traditional gender roles. Traditional gender roles present men as rational, strong, protective and decisive; they portray women as emotional (irrational), weak, caring and submissive. (Lois Tyson, Critical Theory Today, 81, emphasis in original)Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay For my argument, I chose to discuss the role of patriarchy in Les Lais de Marie de France. Being a medieval text, it is primarily patriarchal, with gender roles established not only through examples of what a man or woman should do, but also what their divergence from these can lead to. roles. Marie de France, however, does not always adhere to conventions, which is important to take into account because she is a woman writer in a patriarchal context. First, it is worth discussing how the author reinforces gender roles. To begin more generally, Marie gives seven of her twelve lay names of their male protagonists, as the central character is traditionally expected to be a man. Furthermore, lais like "Guigemar" and "Milun" demonstrate not only the qualities considered typical of male protagonists, but also their contribution to their status: Guigemar's identity is defined by his martial abilities, since not only "person could not find...his equal as a knight" (p. 44), but his journey to foreign lands is aimed at "the search for fame" (p. 43) through "war and strife", thus establishing the importance of gaining glory through conflict; Milun is also “a very good knight” (p. 97), “noble and bold, courteous and fierce” and “loved for his prowess”. Likewise, there are lais, where typical feminine qualities are celebrated. In fact, as Wood points out, “by highlighting them in the narrative, it glorifies the status and role of women in the home.” (p. 1)[1] Women were associated with domestic life and therefore, many female characters feel in control when in their homes. Equitan's treacherous wife chooses to execute her husband with a method that has nothing to do with weapons or combat but with a hot bath that would usually provide domestic comfort to a man. In "La Fresne", Fresne takes care of the newlyweds' bedding and regains her status by displaying the expensive brocade she received from her mother at birth. Another aspect of domestic life, motherhood, the nurturing side of a woman, is also celebrated: for example, in "Milun" there is particular emphasis on the fact that proper care of the child is taken as “they fed the child.” , put him to sleep and give him a bath” and take “a nanny with them” (p. 98). When discussing the reinforcement of gender roles, however, there is also a place for certain negative stereotypes about women. An important pattern that is maintained in at least nine of the laws is adultery which is always committed by a woman and not a man. If in certain cases, like in "Equitan", "Bisclavret" and "Lanval", we condemn it and in others like "Guigemar", "Yonec" and "Milun", we celebrate it, it is always the initiative of a married woman to have a lover, not that of a married man, with the possible exception of La Fresne. Additionally, in lays like “Equitan”, “Bisclavret” and