Silence Embodying Masculinity

I really enjoyed Janel’s presentation and the emphasis she placed on how Silence is ‘othered’ not so much because she’s a woman dressed as a man, but because she is a woman ‘performing’ or fulfilling a masculine gender role. In the second section of the romance , I would venture to argue that Silence fully embraces, performs, and exhibits masculine behavior, even at the very end; this becomes apparent if we examine the narrator’s attitude towards women and how Silence’s actions contradict this attitude.

The narrator reveals his attitude towards women numerously throughout this poem, and it does not paint a pretty picture of them. Among them is the criticism he makes about a woman’s behavior or the intense emotions she is dictated by, when in ‘love.’ On page 183 the narrator states: “But her (woman’s) is not steadfast; it’s irrational and unstable. She loves and hates with equal ease.” Queen Eufeme embodies this particular idea, and illustrates the narrator’s words on page 245. On page 245, in the context of Queen Eufeme and the trap(s) she devises for Silence, the narrator tells us that for the Queen her ‘love was the same as hate.’ With all the misfortune that falls on Silence (threat of death in France, quest to find Merlin), there is never any mention that she/he hates the queen, even with all that she’s put her/him through. In addition to this, Silence acts in a way that ensures her ‘true nature’ will not be revealed, and the queen’s as well; her literal silence about the situation illustrates not only masculine behavior, as it is perceived in the book, for it tries to ‘not compromise the lady’s (Eufeme’s) position as queen,’ and attempts to protect the king from ‘shame.’ Moreover, returning to the narrator’s attitude on page 245, his words are literally echoed by Silence. On page 269, cornered by Queen Eufeme, Silence tells her, “What you call love is betrayal”; betrayal is an act of deceit or treachery, one could say, fueled by hate or an emotion that comes close to mirroring hate. Here is Silence not only talking as a man (narrator), but she seems to truly believe in what she says about the queen’s love; this may point to how she comes to embody a masculine perspective.

Although in battle Silence asks God to intervene, to help ‘strengthen what Nature has made weak,’ and despite her transformation in the end, it is the voice that Silence gains at the end that really determines her sex/masculine behavior. On page 301 the kind tells Queen Eufeme, “A woman’s role is to keep silent”; with the narrator’s attitude towards women in mind, this idea of literal ‘silence’ complicates the main character. One could argue that Silence in keeping ‘silent’ about the Queen’s advances and treachery, she is fulfilling a woman’s role: Yet, Silence exhibits masculine behavior when she states, “Nor do I care to keep silent any longer” (309). Interestingly enough, in revealing her ‘true nature’ she contradicts the notion that ‘a woman’s role is to keep silent.’ Silence undergoes a physical transformation, but has behaved and continues to behave in a masculine way until page 309: She re-defines the ‘woman’s role,’ and in the same instance exhibits masculine behavior. It is with the voice she gains at the end where masculine behavior, in the context of this poem, merges to a degree with feminine behavior.

Although Silence is a queen at the end, she still possesses ‘knightly’ or masculine attributes, embodying both a feminine and masculine ‘nature.’ Like Annie pointed out in her blog, “Silence,” precedes the story of Joan of Arc, a story that deconstructs fixed gender roles, and re-defines ‘woman.’ On a final note, even though Nature seems to win in the end, I wonder if she isn’t the only victorious? As Janel pointed out, Silence 'performs masculinity without being masculine,' though this changes at the end of the book. If Silence has been taught through Nurture, masculine behavior, and if she truly embodies this behavior in the end ( page 309) by ‘no longer being silent,’ and ensuring protection for herself from Queen Eufeme, both Nature and Nurture seem to be victorious.