Acheflour: wise woman or foolish female?(in Sir Perceval of Galles)(Critical Essay)

Publication: Texas Studies in Literature and Language

Publication Date: 22-DEC-04

Bookmark this article Print this article Link to this article Email this article Digg It! Add to del.icio.us RSS

COPYRIGHT 2004 University of Texas at Austin (University of Texas Press)

The story of Acheflour and her son in Sir Perceval of Galles is a particularly poignant and empowering one for the female reader, but, strangely, this fourteenth-century romance has remained relatively untouched by feminist scholars. The majority of studies of Sir Perceval of Galles, to date, have concentrated on its sources, structure, analogues, and ancient mythic content. (1) Another significant body of work has explored the meaning of the Grail--its presence or absence--in the text. (2) In this essay I will argue that a reading which focuses on Acheflour and her values, both overt and covert, can highlight the significant challenge which Sir Perceval of Galles poses to the values and underpinning philosophy of androcentric society, be it medieval or contemporary.

The portrayal of Acheflour in the tale of Sir Perceval of Galles differs markedly from both the German and the French versions of this story. Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival and Chretien de Troyes' tale of Perceval each demonstrate the misogyny characteristic of their age, both in relation to the female protagonists and, specifically, to Perceval's mother and to issues of power and linguistic control. Sir Perceval of Galles, however, exhibits a curious ambivalence towards Acheflour and towards the value systems--social and spiritual--of the two opposing worlds in which the story is played out, the royal court and the primitive forest. While it might be argued that this ambivalence is simply a feature of any male-dominant narrative, psychoanalytic theory clearly demonstrates that areas of ambivalence often provide significant clues to hidden textual meaning. Terry Eagleton proposes that the real meaning of a text lies in precisely these areas, in the

sub-texts ... the "unconscious" of the work itself ... what it does not say, and how it does not say it, may be as important as what it articulates; what seems absent, marginal or ambivalent about it may provide a central clue to its meanings. (3)

This study of Sir Perceval of Galles will, therefore, facilitate a focus on Acheflour and on her values as articulated (albeit ambivalently) in the text. The reading will also provide a structure from within which to examine the male characters in the tale, particularly Perceval "[thorn]e fole one [thorn]e filde" [the fool in the field] (289), and the impact of Acheflour's value system on her son. (4) It will challenge the traditionally held interpretations of this poem, which demonstrate a consistent androcentricity and fail to tap the depths of meaning and feminist egalitarian vision present in the text. (5) The essay will utilize key aspects of Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza's "feminist hermeneutics of suspicion" to question "the underlying presuppositions, androcentric models, and unarticulated interests of contemporary ... interpretation." (6) It will explore the role and power of women in Sir Perceval of Galles, the contrast between gynecentric and androcentric values and social systems, and the curious ambivalence with which Acheflour's values and philosophy are discussed in the text. Of particular importance for the contemporary reader of this tale of Sir Perceval of Galles will be the exploration of the range of alternative subject positions available to the female protagonists in the text, and the personal, social, and spiritual implications, for them--and also for the male protagonists--of assuming these alternative and challenging subject positions.

A Classic (Male) Tale

The tale of Sir Perceval of Galles has commonly been viewed as a story of action and adventure, that is, of male action and adventure. (7) In his quest for such adventure the young Perceval interacts with several women: his mother, Acheflour; the unnamed sleeping maiden; and Lufamour of Maidenland. Each of these women has an integral role to play in Perceval's adventures: Acheflour to prepare him for life in the world of men; the sleeping maiden to provide the magic ring which will protect him; and Lufamour to gift him with the sovereignty of her land. Each of these women is used, and abandoned, by Perceval whose chief concern is the pursuit of his own ends, which are the quest for knighthood and acceptance in the male world.

Acheflour first enters the story when she is given by her brother Arthur to his "Beste byluffede" [favorite] knight, Perceval (senior), to be his wife. Along with his sister, Arthur gives Perceval gifts of land and other goods. Perceval marries Acheflour "For [thorn]e gyftes [thorn]at ware gude / And for hir ownn sake" [for the gifts that were good, and for her own sake] (39-40, my italics). That is, he marries her firstly for the dowry she brings him and, almost as an afterthought, for her own sake. The woman is but the seal on the exchange of property and goods between the two men.

After the premature death of her husband, Acheflour devotes her life to the care and education of her son, Perceval. She endures the hardships of life in the woods in order to protect Perceval from the violence and possible death attendant upon life in the Arthurian court. For this she receives no thanks from Perceval and only castigation from the court for her failure to teach her son accepted courtly behavior and values. Perceval repays his mother's devotion by leaving her without any contact for over a year, while he pursues his own adventures. Acheflour is bereft and ultimately goes mad with sorrow. Upon finally being reunited with her son and restored to health (and, even here, it is the castle porter who watches over her for three days and nights, rather than Perceval, her son), Acheflour is once again abandoned by Perceval when he sets off for the Holy Land in search of further adventures, further violence, and further converts to the male deity of Christianity. The tale concentrates upon Perceval, to the exclusion of Acheflour. She is but the instrument of his upbringing and the cause of his naivete.

In like manner, the sleeping maiden is but a means to an end: Perceval's acquisition of the magic ring. For her role in this adventure the maiden is tied to a tree by the Black Knight. She is punished for losing the magic ring, the ring which Perceval stole while she slept when "He come one his play[y]nge" [he came in play] (1850), a play which caused her naught but pain. Indeed, in the use of the male pronoun, "his play[y]nge," there is a sense that the maiden is to be used for Perceval's recreation or diversion. Despite the maiden's total innocence of any wrongdoing (for, one might ask, how much wrong can a woman do when she is asleep?), she is still in need of forgiveness, perhaps simply for being a woman and thus a temptation to Perceval. This forgiveness is only granted after one man, Perceval, appeals to another man, the Black Knight, that he "Forgiffe the lady" [forgive the lady] (1932). To further compound the negation of the lady, her assurances to the Black Knight of her innocence go unheeded. She is accused by the Black Knight not only of giving away the ring but also of giving away her body. Her denials are worthless--the Black Knight ties her up (whether as punishment, or to protect his goods from further interference, is unclear)--whereas the words of Perceval carry the weight of male authority and are believed. The assurance that Perceval gives the Black Knight is that of one man to another: that he did not spoil, or steal, his property, the woman: "Perceuelle made [thorn]e same othe / [THORN]at he come neuer vndir clothe" [Perceval swore the same oath, that he did not disrobe her] (this is the very same oath that the woman swore earlier) (1933-34, my italics). To add insult to injury, this is the woman on whose lap Perceval rests after untying her with no recognition that it is she, and not Perceval, who has undergone the ordeal of being bound to the tree and is probably more in need of rest than is Perceval.

In each encounter which Perceval has with this woman she is helpless, passive, the classic stereotype of the submissive female. When Perceval first sees her she is asleep and he is able to do with her as he will; on their second encounter she is tied to a tree, again helpless, and unable to resist his will; finally, she sits patiently while Perceval rests on her lap. The story contains no indication that the woman is of any importance whatsoever, except in so far as she is useful to the hero. She is simply used by Perceval, both as a source of magical protection and as a pillow.

Lady Lufamour of Maidenland, sole ruler of "Alle hir landes" [all her lands] (978), is also used by Perceval. Lufamour loses her autonomy and her lands to Perceval, who wins them in the battle against Gollerotherame. Lufamour promises both herself and the sovereignty of her land to Perceval if he succeeds in defeating the armies of Gollerotherame or, indeed, to anyone "Who [thorn]at may his bon be" [who destroys him] (1338). Lufamour offers herself to the winner "To welde at his will" [to govern as he will] (1340). The words are Lufamour's but the sentiments are definitely male: this is the classic male fantasy of the submissive female. It...

Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.