Perhaps William Shakespeare is right: all the world could well be a stage, where all the men and women are nothing more than mere actors. What happens when, despite their exits and entrances, these actors only play one part? Without comprehensive character development, do these individuals lose their value? Can this part really influence the interpretation of the work? While stock, static characters are standard in all forms of literature, rarely do these individuals have as striking a presence as women in medieval literature. Geoffrey Chaucer's "Knight's Tale" portion of the Canterbury Tales and the poet Gawain's Sir Gawain and the Green Knight both describe standard female characters whose depictions offer commentary on the social perception of women in the Middle Ages. Evident through the exposition of the romance surrounding Emily in “The Knight's Tale,” both heroes and men desire pure, innocent women to be their loving spouses. Sir Gawain's tale, however, presents Bertilak's sensual wife in contrast to Emily, thus revealing women as a source of temptation and weakness for chivalric morality. This tale also features the mysterious Morgan le Faye as the manipulative witch figure, exposing society's fear of powerful women. Through character descriptions and interactions, these poets illustrate that women play specific and limited roles within society. Despite their unique role in these works, however, their symbolic presence serves as an imprint in the ever-evolving perception of women within male-dominated literature. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay For the role of an ideal love interest and future wife, Chaucer chooses the young Amazon Emily. Even though the Amazons are supposedly tall, aggressive, strong-willed women, Emily's display strays in every way imaginable—a noteworthy alteration in personality considering the poet's specific use of her heritage. “More beautiful… than… the lily on its green stem,” she wanders in the sunlight “like an angel from heaven” (Chaucer 27). The description of her beauty objectifies her as a beautiful prize to be admired, but also goes a step further by revealing her appearance as a testament to her purity and passivity rather than the warrior aggression associated with her people. She must be a one-dimensional beauty in both her physicality and her demeanor because that is her role. Despite social conventions, Emily wants little more than to remain "a virgin all [her] life," wanting to remain pure and untainted by man's touch (59). Her desperate attachment to virginity strips her of passion and desire, leaving her a meek and innocent woman. To be without desire means to be without temptation and sin, making her the ideal submissive wife. Further exhibiting both her religious fervor and obedience, Emily prays, begs, and makes sacrifices to Diana to protect her virginity. In these actions, Emily vows to offer herself to Diana's service if she would help Emily's cause. After receiving a sign that his prayer will not be answered, he nevertheless willingly gives himself over to Diana's "protective care," trusting her to "dispose of herself as [she] desires," even if this ultimately means surrendering her virginity to Palamon (60). Her dedication to the goddess attests to Emily's willingness to submit her destiny and her body to the will of another. Through the description of her beauty, virginity and faithreligious, Chaucer makes Emily a submissive wife. With the role of "ideal wife" filled by Chaucer's Emily, the poet Gawain entrusts the role of seductress to Bertilak's wife. The description of her beauty differs markedly from that of the pure and innocent Emily. Although her features are “flawless,” her “face and beautiful throat show freely…her almost bare breast” are in stark contrast to Emily's reserved and reserved beauty (Gawain 56). Here, her physical attributes cause her to be a source of temptation for Gawain to stray from his code of chivalry rather than venture towards ideal love. Because her beauty is revealed in terms of sexuality rather than innocence, Bertilak's wife goes from beautiful object to demure temptress, from passive to aggressive. While it would be easy to dismiss the wife as little more than a pretty face, she appears to be a skilled debater and an astute reader of Gawain's reactions. She has a specific agenda to pursue to seduce the knight, but recognizes the need to be discreet and persistent in her pursuit. Noting that she is Gawain's social superior, she knows that he is bound by the knights' code to obey her requests. Because of this "cunning", he realizes that he will be torn between serving the queen and respecting the king; she employs both subtle and overt tactics to get what she wants from him (49). He remains persistent in his pursuit of Gawain, stealing kisses from him at every attempt, and resorts to flattery, proclaiming him "the noblest knight known in [their] time" (51). Although she ultimately fails to fully realize her sexual desires with Gawain, she manages to make the former noble knight break his loyalty to his host by accepting his girdle. This receipt of a personal item that Gawain later hides from his host reveals the weakening of his character. Using her sexually charged physical appearance and through her cunning manipulation of Gawain, the female figure is no longer submissive and pure. With this exposition, Bertilak's wife takes on the role of the unfaithful temptress and corruptor of chivalric ideals. Having already designated the roles of both the beautiful innocent woman and the beautiful evil woman, the poet Gawain chooses Morgan le Faye as the ugly, evil woman. In contrast to the youthful beauty of Bertilak's wife, Morgan appears "ancient" and "unsightly" with flesh hanging in folds over her face and "round and broad buttocks" (Gawain 38, 39). Being neither dainty nor comely, Morgan immediately works in stark contrast to all the female characters introduced thus far. Since the nature of physical descriptions lends itself to revealing aspects of women's personalities, the old woman must therefore possess sinister qualities to complement her outward appearance. Only in the last 100 lines are its unattractive attributes qualified. Being a notable figure in Arthurian legend, Morgan le Faye typically acts as an antagonist of Camelot and strives to put an end to the Knights of the Round Table. In this particular tale, Bertilak himself admits that Morgan "led him in this capacity" to "bewilder [Gawain's] wits" (73). Shrouded in all her mystery as a nameless figure in Bertilak's court, she is actually the mastermind behind this plot against Gawain. His evil and manipulative nature manifests itself in his external behavior. Because she uses her intelligence for evil rather than good, Morgan le Faye acts as the witch figure feared for her intellect and shrouded in mystery. Only through his knowledge of the "subtleties of science and the arts of sorcerers" acquired at Merlin's knee can the plot ever take place. Curiously, however, Morgan remains the only character a..