14th and 15th century England experienced significant social changes in the rise of the merchant class, the expiration of feudalism, competition for the nobility and the struggle of the nation to form a cohesive national identity and security. All of this resulted in an overall social and political instability that caused citizens to reassess and reconstruct internal identities and roles in society, especially as the class structure in England was constantly being altered. Sir Thomas Malory himself seemed to experience and internalize this fluctuation and resulting confusion over identity, as evidenced by his turbulent public reputation and lifestyle. The confusion and struggle around personal identity and the identity that society imposes on us was represented not only through discourse and social relationships, but also through literature. In his work Le Morte D'Arthur, Malory indeed deals with such issues of identity in the 14th and 15th centuries and within himself by 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, and performed by Arthur. To do this, I develop the theories of Judith Butler 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 “constrained by social sanction and taboo” to “realize in the mode of belief” (519-520). . I apply and adapt Butler's assertions to the examination of Arthur's identity in this essay by demonstrating that his identity, regardless of gender, also "suffers from a certain cultural construction", and that he too comes from to believe in this constituted identity and to “perform[s]” (Butler, 520 and 523). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay There are several distinct events in Le Morte d'Arthur in which Arthur's identity is also socially constructed and constrained by the cultural expectations, just as Butler argues. the genre is the first to occur before Arthur was even conceived. Arthur's fate and identity are prophesied and predetermined by Merlin in the first book of Malory's work, speaking as he does of "the great importance of the child" (Malory, 4) to come (Arthur ). By expressing what his identity should be in magnitude and importance, Merlin becomes the first to construct the fundamental identity of Arthur's being. This construct becomes social the moment Merlin shares these expectations with Uther, and with this speech, a society's initial expectations of Arthur being a great and important king, despite it being only a small society of two men, are espoused and provide a thin basis for similar future constructions that establish Arthur's identity with his "greatness" and nobility. Achieving this, Uther and Igraine's relationship, otherwise known as Uther's seduction of Igraine in the guise of her newly deceased husband, similarly establishes Arthur's identity as king . During their time together, the two literally create Arthur's being, but by extension also construct his identity through the rules of lineage. As Uther's only male heir, Arthur is required by law to ascend the throne, and his identity is therefore constituted by the regulations of society that force him to serve as king from conception. Butler states that identity is often "constrained by available historical conventions” (Butler 521), and the same is true for Arthur, whose identity is limited to the title “king” by traditional lines of succession. Shortly after Arthur's birth, the formulation of his unique identity and birthright as king persists vocally, first while Uther is on his deathbed, as Merlin asks: "Sire , will your son Arthur be king of this kingdom after you with all your property? to which the king replied in the affirmative, saying: "I give him God's blessing and mine, and I command him to pray for my soul, and with justice and adoration let him claim the crown in case of loss of my blessing” (Malory, 6), then again, as Merlin proclaims to the people of the kingdom that Jesus himself, at Christmas, would “show by a miracle who was to be the true king of the kingdom” (Malory, 6) . Initially, the men who initiated Arthur's constituted identity by discussing their expectations of him continue their work, proposing that Arthur take the throne, or even assume it. In the second, Merlin broadcasts Arthur's identity as "king" beyond the two men's society and into the world with which Arthur will most immediately be required to interact and follow the rules. The final case 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 which holds Arthur's future sword. It reads: “HE WHO DRAWS THIS SWORD FROM THIS STONE AND THIS ANVIL IS BORN RIGHTLY KING OF ALL ENGLAND” (Malory, 7). The inscription gives a very specific and seemingly simple standard for the man drawing the sword; let him be king. This is consistent with the aforementioned passages which legally and orally accuse Arthur of the same standard. Thus, the societal construction of Arthur's identity is initiated, extended, and completed; From Merlin's claims to Uther to Arthur's kingship, the "wise" and "great" king of England hand-picked by divinity and fate, Arthur's expectations of maintaining a certain identity tied to the title of “king” have extended to all of humanity. society that Arthur will come into contact with as he grows up and attempts to define himself outside of his nobility. In these events preceding and following Arthur's birth, but before his accession to the throne, Merlin binds Arthur eternally to kingship and causes all of society to do the same, making it clear that Arthur's future position as king of England is "not predetermined by some sort of inner essence" (Butler, 521), but is made through social interactions. Although the British do not know who this divine monarch will be, they are already expecting him from the moment he arrives, working to construct his identity even before he himself is aware of his true lineage or is forced to assume a certain role in the world. Arthur is not born king; he is transformed into one 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 formal construction of gender that Butler presents in his work, asserting that gender is "an identity fragilely constituted in time—an identity instituted through a stylized repetition of acts" (519). By reiterating Arthur's identity through the many instances or "deeds" mentioned above, Malory constructs Arthur's identity as king in the same way that Butler indicates that gender is constructed in society. The expectations assigned to the adolescent before his birth are ultimately projected onto Arthur as he draws the sword from the stone; in doing so, Arthur simultaneously imposes identity and expectations on himselfalready pre-existing which will forever accompany “he who draws the sword” (Malory, 7). Although he was prophesied and betrothed to the throne before his birth, even though God himself chose him to be king, Arthur initially struggles to accept the identity imposed on him at that time. Because of this uncertainty, according to Butler, Arthur's identity is not yet "constituted." He has not entered "the mode of belief", is not yet convinced of the "irresistible illusion" of his forced identity, and has not yet "realized" his identity (Butler, 519-520) . He accepts his new identity. role in time, but does not do it because he feels that 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 ever known to him explicitly told him, as the rest of society has already done, that he must be king; “I understand that you must be the king of this land… because God wills it so, for no man should ever have drawn this sword unless he were rightly the king of this land” (Malory, 8 ). Once again, Arthur only concedes because he is “indebted” to Sir Ector, dreading the thought of “failing” or disobeying him (Malory, 8). Arthur also temporarily accepts the burden of kingship due to the entreaties of his subjects. As soon as his accomplishment is recognized, society duly assumes that Arthur will accept the throne, shouting, "We will have Arthur as king." We will delay him no longer for we see that it is the will of God that he be our king…” (Malory, 9). Ultimately, Arthur gives in to the demands of his immediate society, his subjects, and his father, agreeing to assume the identity of a “true king… from then on 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 more suggestive of Butler's theory that identity is constructed by external factors rather than internal intuition, thus than his belief that a primary reason people conform is fabricated. Arthur's identity is a fear of social punishment. With the prior establishment of Arthur's identity long solidified, the boy has little choice but to live up to these expectations and take them upon himself after reaching for the sword; as a young man, Arthur has not yet had the opportunity to draw his own conclusions about his identity, has not had time to construct it himself, to discover what his inner essence really is. Due to this, his inexperience and his youth, Arthur submits entirely to the predetermined notions and indivisible identity of royalty, making it his only identity, believing that as humans are wont to do , what society tells you to be, you automatically are. However, Arthur does not take on this character solely because of his inexperience. Butler states that people often conform to and perform traditional gender roles and stereotypes because "those who do not respect their gender are severely punished" with "clearly punitive consequences" (Butler, 522), and we can therefore assume that it is for Arthur and his identity as king, especially since he explicitly states that he accepts kingship because he fears the consequences of his family or subjects' "failure." Arthur acts in this way, as Butler says we all do with gender identity, "in obedience to historically bounded possibility" and "in accordance with certain sanctions and prohibitions" (Butler, 522 and 525), namely the standards and expectations of Arthur's subjects as described above. Although Arthur's identity has long been constituted by society and constrained by.