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Interpretation of Guinevere in Arthurian Legends
HU Xiyue, XIAO Bin
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DOI:10.17265/2328-2177/2026.06.003
Beijing No. 4 High School International Campus, Beijing, China; Beijing Information Science & Technology University, Beijing, China
This study examines the representative significance of Guinevere in Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur (1485) to explore how the medieval code of courtly love constructs a dual narrative of idealization and denigration of women. Employing a multidimensional framework, the analysis first investigates the anti-feminist tradition underpinning Arthurian literature, revealing how male knights project their desires and anxieties onto the queen. The function of Queen Guinevere’s dowry, the Round Table—externalization of the maternal body is questioned to reveal how the Queen has been transformed from an individual into a symbol of kingdom’s harmony. However, when she pursues personal desire through adultery, she is swiftly recast from the “source of harmony” to the “root of national ruin”. This dichotomy exposes courtly love not as genuine respect for women, but as an ideological system serving male aristocratic interests—idealizing women to regulate knightly behavior while stigmatizing them to explain social crises. Ultimately, Guinevere emerges as a contradictory mirror reflecting medieval gender power dynamics, embodying both male adoration and fear.
Arthurian literature, courtly love, adoration, stigmatization, gender
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