Powerful women in medieval times: The rebirth of the female heroine in popular culture

Abstract

Viewed through the lens of Victorian Pre-Raphaelite artists, empowered women of the Middle and Modern Ages were reduced to swooning damsels in distress. An examination of women's roles in these eras, specifically through the literature of Marie de France, Geoffrey Chaucer, Sir Thomas Malory, and Edmund Spenser, prove the characters of Guinevere, Morgan le Fay, and Britomart, to be strong, intelligent and self-sufficient. When the Victorian lens is removed, these women are no longer weak, submissive icons incapable of independent thought, trapped by patriarchal constraints of societal control. Because of the American feminist movements, they are inspirations for future generations of women. Finally, with the evolution of Popular Culture, 20^th and 21^st century heroines, such as a newly redefined Guinevere and Morgan le Fay and other women like Xena Warrior Princess and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, prove that the portrayal of strong, independent, and empowered women has come full circle.