In Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory, the majority of characters face serious conflicts with chivalry and romance. This essay will, however, analyze the female characters and their roles in Mallory's interpretation of Le Morte d'Arthur and how these female characters deal with the pressures and restrictions placed on them as women. Queen Guinevere and Elaine of Ascolot represent the ideals of women in Arthurian romance; Both Guinevere and Elaine are beautiful Arthurian and aristocratic ladies who love hard and are willing to put everything they hold dear on the line for the sake of their love and lover. Although Queen Guinevere and Elaine of Ascolot are both considered ideal lovers by Mallory, their gender reveals the limits placed on women in chivalry and romance through their similar struggles against patriarchy and their differences in how they express their love. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on 'Why violent video games should not be banned'? Get the original essay The similarities between Queen Guinevere and Elaine of Ascolot follow a common theme of women being controlled or suppressed by men. We see this in many examples with Guinevere, as she is constantly accused of some sort of heinous crime and then has to be defended by a man, particularly Lancelot. She can never defend herself; she still needs a man to do it, even when she uses her words to try to defend herself, she more or less ends up in Arthur's court because she is a woman and her words are considered devoid of meaning. This is why a man, or Lancelot, must come and fight on his behalf and save the day. Here we see Guinevere trying to explain the mysterious death of a knight who died after eating a dinner she had prepared: “'I have prepared this dinner for a good purpose, and never for any evil; then Jesus Almighty helps me in my right, because I was never destined to commit such evil deeds, and I relate to God »» (Mallory, 407). She really couldn't have been clearer in what she was trying to say to defend herself against the charges brought against her by the court. Yet a few lines later we see Arthur dismissing what she says and asking where Lancelot is to defend his word. Why does she need a man to defend her word? This proves that legal outcomes in Camelot and Arthurian romance are only considered fair or true when a man defends the case or issue. "'Where is Sir Lancelot?' Said King Arthur. 'And here he was, he wouldn't hesitate to fight for you'” (Mallory, 407). This is a perfect example of how Guinevere is belittled by a patriarchal society, and although she is an ideal lover and even though she is a member of high society, her opinion is still considered unimportant or less important than that of a man. However, Guinevere is not the only female character who is ignored and mistreated by the patriarchy. Elaine of Ascolot, another female character, is again described as an ideal lover: “So this maiden Elaine never left Sir Lancelot, but watched him day and night. night, and paid him such care that the French book says that never was woman more kind to man” (Mallory, 427). Elaine is described as ideal; However, even though she is portrayed as the kindest and most loving woman, she is still taken advantage of when it comes to romance and chivalry. As the story continues, poor Elaine is completely manipulated and used by Lancelot; his good nature and selfishness create a toxic combination and eventually break his heart and ultimately result in his death. We see in many examples with Elaine, how she is confined to a certain feminine role because of her gender. An example of this inequality would be when Lancelot tells Elaine and her family that he must leave to return to Camelot. Lancelot explains that he has no intention of marrying Elaine even though he guided her by wearing his sleeve to a tournament.which is an obvious symbol of love in Arthurian romance and he also expressed his affection for her earlier when she nursed him back to health. However, the scene continues and we clearly see sexist gender roles when Elaine's brother Sir Lavain also professes his love for Lancelot and says he wants to stay with him and understands why his sister wants to kill herself if she loses Lancelot. Lancelot said: “Father”… “I dare to prove that she is a pure maiden as to my lord Sir Lancelot; but she does as I do, for if I first saw my lord Sir Lancelot, I could never get away from him, and I would do nothing and could follow him” (Mallory, 433). This quote shows how a man can do something a woman cannot do in Arthurian romance. Elaine wants to stay with Lancelot and be with him forever, but she can't, because she is a woman. However, his brother, because he is a man, can become a knight and follow Lancelot and be with him forever. Even though Elaine saved Lancelot and nursed him back to health and played a very active female role, she still cannot become a knight and, therefore, she can never stay or be with Lancelot. The only way Elaine could still be with Lancelot would be if she was his lover or his wife, both possibilities were rejected by Lancelot. Although Queen Guinevere and Elaine of Ascolot are described as ideal lovers, they express their love differently. While Queen Guinevere has a more demanding approach to how she handles her love with Lancelot, Elaine has a generous or giving way of expressing her love. Even if Lancelot rejects Elaine and serves Guinevere, the problem remains one of gender. Elaine's love is not considered legitimate to Lancelot because she is not his lover, so a woman's love is only considered valuable if she is his lover, which constitutes a double standard in Arthurian society. Queen Guinevere tends to be seen as the perfect Arthurian lady and lover; she is beautiful, graceful and puts her love for Lancelot above all else, she truly believes and inflicts all the ideals of romance and chivalry, just like Elaine. However, Guinevere tends to be more demanding and demands Lancelot's full attention and dedication. If he does not comply with her requests or expectations, Guinevere will think that he does not love him because he does not demonstrate the ideals of chivalry. An example of Guinevere's overly dramatic expectations would be at the very beginning of The Tale of Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere, a few lines where we see Guinevere scolding Lancelot for his lack of attention: "Sir Lancelot, I see and feel every day that your love begins. Relax, for you have no joy in being in my presence, but still you are out of this court. And the quarrels and affairs you have today for ladies, maidens, and ladies-in-waiting, more than you ever used to have before” (Mallory, 403). These idealistic attributes that Guinevere lives up to and strives to achieve are simply expected of her, they are expected of her because she is a beautiful woman. If Guinevere were a peasant or a less attractive woman, such strict ideals would not be as essential to her.