Date of Award
2014
Degree Name
English
College
College of Liberal Arts
Type of Degree
M.A.
Document Type
Thesis
First Advisor
Kateryna Schray
Second Advisor
John Young
Third Advisor
Tim Burbery
Abstract
The bedtrick – mistaken identity in a sexual encounter – is a comic motif employed by medieval, renaissance and modern storytellers. While modern readers tend to recognize this motif as (at best) a disturbing sexual escapade and (at worst) rape, the scholarship on mistaken identity in medieval literature still generally glosses over the bedtrick as a moment of comedy. My thesis examines the literary trope of the bedtrick through the critical lens of Judith Butler’s performativity theory, and the motives behind this form of deception and the modern implications. Furthermore, the bedtrick trope is explored in Malory’s Le Morte Darthur and Gottfried’s Von Strassburg’s Tristan, along with the gender roles prescribed in each performance. The results provided support for viewing the bedtrick trope as a problematic, serious, non-farcical attempt to gloss over the implications of scandalous sexual encounters that involve trickery and deceptive means.
Subject(s)
Arthurian romances -- Criticism, Textual.
Malory, Thomas, Sir, active 15th century. Morte d’Arthur -- Criticism, Textual.
Gottfried, von Strassburg, active 13th century. Tristan -- Criticism, Textual.
Gender in literature.
Recommended Citation
Daniel, Abby Louise, "Scandalous deception in the castle: an examination of the gender performance through the bedtrick trope in Arthurian literature" (2014). Theses, Dissertations and Capstones. 825.
https://mds.marshall.edu/etd/825
Included in
Classics Commons, Comparative Literature Commons, English Language and Literature Commons, Women's Studies Commons
