Throughout history, women have played various social roles, some of which can be seen through the prism literature written during the period. different eras. Using several songs from Hell, a portion of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy and the framework tale The Arabian Nights, this article will examine the medieval role of women as initiators and instigators of events, and will lead to an understanding of the quintessence of the medieval woman. : someone willing to maintain an appearance of passivity while providing for herself or the people she has learned to care for in the background. This understanding is vital to interpretations of these texts, as well as other medieval literature; however, an understanding of the role of women in medieval times can also enrich the ability to examine women's roles throughout literature and promote an understanding of how these perceptions changed and evolved over time. Thus, thanks to this knowledge, it would also be possible to analyze the contemporary roles of women and understand how and why certain stereotypes and ways of thinking have been perpetuated throughout history, and how they have been largely overcome in certain societies modern. Additionally, contemporary roles for women in other regions (excluding the United States and Europe) can be better understood in the context of these archaic interpretations, elements of which still exist today. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayDante Alighieri composed his Divine Comedy in the early 14th century, when there were strong political divisions in his hometown of Florence, due to a religious disagreement in which he finally chose his side. His work has strong religious overtones, stemming from the apparent journey through the stages of the afterlife, as well as references to several celestial figures. However, his work also contains several female characters, although many of them receive only brief mention before attention is drawn away from the roles they played in the journey of Dante the Pilgrim. However, women's roles in texts are not always so limited; In tales such as The Arabian Nights, which probably predate the Divine Comedy, women play a crucial role in advancing the plot and directing the actions of the male characters. Despite the fact that women initiate and continue to initiate a In the majority of actions contained in both texts, the perceptions of these female characters vary considerably. In the Divine Comedy, all the female characters are presented as righteous, even saintly; these women led a good life and, for this, were admitted to heaven, where the last stage of the journey of Dante the pilgrim must take place. In The Arabian Nights, however, the majority of female characters are lustful, promiscuous, and very easily dismissed. While Dante the Pilgrim never forgot the love he felt for Beatrice during his lifetime, King Shahrayar and Shahzaman showed no mercy towards their wives and put them to death regardless of the favor they received. they once had. These attitudes show the polarity that exists towards women and thus also show the different ways in which they can cause events, even if the causation was unintentional. In each text, a female character started the main plot. , and who contributed in a waysignificant to the events surrounding the early parts of the story. A key passage for discussing the early significance of female characters in the Divine Comedy begins when Virgil explains how he was led to Dante the Pilgrim, who had found himself wandering in the Dark Wood. According to Virgil, “I was among the dead... when a lady called me” (Inferno2.52-3); this lady, who we realize is actually Beatrice, Dante's first love, then asked Virgil to go to Dante the pilgrim, guide him through the rings of hell and finally bring him safe and sound at the gates of paradise. Despite her distance, she attempted to give him as much help as possible from her place in heaven while waiting for him to reach the gates, from which she could continue to guide him on his journey. She also shows genuine concern for him when she expresses, “I fear he has wandered so far /…that I have begun to help him too late” (Inferno 2.64-6). Regardless of the fact that she no longer had an earthly or physical presence in Dante's life, Beatrice still shows that she continued to care for him and feared for his soul and safety after he died. began wandering in the Dark Wood, a place that has been described as being off the "correct" path of his life. The first female characters in The Arabian Nights, however, are very different from the celestial and loving Beatrice. The first woman we are introduced to is Shahzaman's favorite wife, whom he had left behind while he went to visit his brother; When he secretly returned to say goodbye, his true colors were revealed. Shahzaman caught her in their bedroom, having sex with a kitchen boy; this fact infuriated him so much that it drove him to kill both the other man and his favorite wife, and throw their bodies out of the palace. After his discovery, Shahzaman ordered his convoy to leave immediately and "The drum was struck and they set out, while Shahzaman's heart was on fire because of what his wife had done to him and the how she had betrayed him with a few words. cook, a kitchen boy” (Arabian Nights 1747). His bitterness, however, soon turned into a deep depression, which overcame him even when he was at his brother's palace. This depression indirectly led to the introduction of the second major female character and the terrible changes that took place within her brother, Shahrayar; When Shahzaman saw his brother's favorite wife and ten of her concubines performing sexual acts with eleven slaves in his brother's house, he immediately had the impression that his fate was not the worst of all and that he could start functioning again knowing that his brother's fate was unknowingly worse than his own. Shayrayar, seeing the changes that had taken place, demanded to know what had motivated them; It was only then that Shahzaman revealed to his brother the secret meetings between his wives and the slaves. In disbelief, Shahrayar asked to see this for himself, to which his brother agreed. He took his brother to the window one morning and “when King Shahrayar saw the spectacle of his wife and the slaves, he lost his mind” (Arabian Nights 1750). Thus, the actions of Shahrayar's favorite wife, as well as the other ten concubines, caused him to become the heartless murderer that he is throughout the next part of the tale. Women in the Divine Comedy and The Arabian Nights were the catalysts for the beginning of the plot and for the male characters to behave in ways they would not normally do. In the Divine Comedy this change was manifested primarily through the appearance and actions of Virgil; he wouldn't benot normally come to guide a person wandering in the Dark Wood, but at Beatrice's request, he offered to help Dante the Pilgrim. In The Arabian Nights, this change was channeled through Shahzaman and Shahrayar, although Shahrayar was arguably the most affected, due to the fact that he underwent the greatest change in mentality, particularly towards women. Later in both texts, we discover female characters. with good motivations, who seek to do everything in their power to help either the male characters or other women. In the second canto of the Divine Comedy we can learn more about the true reasons behind sending aid to Dante the Pilgrim, when we see that Beatrice said to Virgil: "A gracious lady sits in Heaven and weep / for what has happened to him to whom I send you, / and his compassion breaks the severe decree of Heaven” (Hell 2.94 -6). This “gracious lady” is often assumed, particularly because of the religious motifs present in the rest of the work, to be Mary. As Guy Raffa says: “This last woman, who sets the whole rescue operation in motion, can only be Mary, the virgin mother of Jesus according to Dante's faith” (“Three Blessed Women”, Danteworlds). Thus, it is Mary who truly sends Dante the Pilgrim her guide; without it, he could likely have wandered forever through the Darkwood and the circles of hell, never able to find his correct and established path again. Mary, through Saint Lucy and then through Beatrice, provides all possible help to Dante the Pilgrim, initiating his journey and beginning his slow passage towards the kingdoms of heaven. In The Arabian Nights, we discover the character of Shahrazad, a young woman ready to try to change the mentality of King Shahrayar and to put an end to the murder of the women he marries. According to Jerome Clinton, "After witnessing the debauchery of his favorite wife, he first abandons his throne completely, then, after his encounter with the jinn and the kidnapped bride, he returns to his throne, but transformed into a monster of injustice. » (Clinton 108). Despite the many risks, she insists on marrying the king, but makes sure to tell him stories every night, leaving him curious to hear the ending. His strategy works; every night she tells Shahrayar a new part of a story, or even a whole new story, which prevents him from killing her the next morning. However, every night, Shahrayar promises that “[he] will have her put to death the next morning, as I did with the others” (Arabian Nights 1760). While she tells him these stories, she also uses these tales as a way to hopefully change the king's mindset and behavior; after hearing about his promise to "marry for one night only and kill the woman the next morning, in order to save himself from the wickedness and cunning of women" (Arabian Nights 1752), which she what she really wanted was to survive, and to save other women from the horrible fate that resulted from becoming his wife. Overall, women in both stories play an important role in the male character's life and journeys. However, as is characteristic of the role of women in medieval society, they always operate under a veil of silence; their actions are neither bold nor pure, but are carried out in secret and in the background, always behind the adventures of their male counterparts. As instigators and initiators, women could find some power in the medieval world; since they could not use themselves to achieve their desires, they could instead use the power of the men they influenced to express their general will and achieve their goals.. 1746-1795.