Exploration of the Role of Virgin Martyr’s Beauty in Chaste Passions: Medieval English Virgin Martyr Legends
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A virgin martyr legend was one of the most outstanding and popular literary forms during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. In terms of feminist perspective, critics of virgin martyr legends usually have been divided into two different views. Many critics have read them as patriarchal violence toward women. However, others have interpreted them as women’s resistance against patriarchal oppression. Rejecting both critical perspectives, I think we cannot see virgin martyr legends in terms of gender-specific point of view. To demonstrate this, through the textual analysis of five virgin martyr legends in Chaste Passions, I show that the beauty of the virgin martyr is different from that of the secular heroine whose beauty is gender-specific. That is, the beauty of the virgin martyr transcends gender. Moreover, the role of the virgin marty’s beauty differentiates itself from that of the secular heroine’s: While the beauty of the secular heroine triggers male desire for her, that of the virgin martyr is used to glorify God.
Abstract
A virgin martyr legend was one of the most outstanding and popular literary forms during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. In terms of feminist perspective, critics of virgin martyr legends usually have been divided into two different views. Many critics have read them as patriarchal violence toward women. However, others have interpreted them as women’s resistance against patriarchal oppression. Rejecting both critical perspectives, I think we cannot see virgin martyr legends in terms of gender-specific point of view. To demonstrate this, through the textual analysis of five virgin martyr legends in Chaste Passions, I show that the beauty of the virgin martyr is different from that of the secular heroine whose beauty is gender-specific. That is, the beauty of the virgin martyr transcends gender. Moreover, the role of the virgin marty’s beauty differentiates itself from that of the secular heroine’s: While the beauty of the secular heroine triggers male desire for her, that of the virgin martyr is used to glorify God.
참고문헌 (8)
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