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Women's Speech and Silence in Hartmann von Aue's Erec

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 October 2020

Patrick M. McConeghy
Patrick M. McConeghy*
Affiliation:
Michigan State University, East Lansing
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Abstract

The speech behavior of Erec and his wife, Enite, in Hartmann's late twelfth-century Arthurian epic seems to support the view that women in strongly patriarchal societies are expected to speak with men rarely and to employ appropriate negative-politeness strategies to minimize the imposition. When Lady Enite breaks the rules, her husband imposes, on pain of death, a command of silence. She repeatedly disobeys but saves her life by using the requisite strategies to beg for forgiveness. Her impudence is nevertheless punished with demotion to servant status. On closer analysis, however, one must agree with Erec that he has merely been testing his wife and note that Hartmann is advocating a far more active and vocal role for women in the marriage relationship than first meets the eye.

Type
Research Article
Information
PMLA , Volume 102 , Issue 5 , October 1987 , pp. 772 - 783
Copyright
Copyright © Modern Language Association of America, 1987

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