‘She is Beautiful and She’s Laughing’? Embodiment, Virtue, and Medieval Femininity.”
Presentation
Overview
Overview
Description
“Good girls keep their mouths—and their legs—discreetly closed.” Even today, etiquette books emphasize the importance of bodily restraint for women. The tendency of looking at various functions of the female body—be it speech, desire, or emotions and gestures—through the prism of sexual modesty has a long tradition; however, laughter has always caused particular concern. In “Castration and Decapitation,” Hélène Cixous observes that women’s laughter is threatening to the patriarchal order and for that it is punished (43). Her insight proves right when one examines how the laughter of women is treated in pre-modern times. It is commonly associated with frivolity, disobedience, and even lack of virtue, and therefore, its forms (including smiling) have to be strictly controlled.
Medieval German tradition is no exception. Women’s laughter and smiling are welcomed only if they enhance the pleasure that women give men, and even in these cases, medieval authors frequently take pains to dispel any potential doubts about the woman’s reputation. The laughter of medieval ladies thus points to an inherent contradiction within their society which requires women to be virtuous and desirable at one and the same time.
The proposed poster will explore the connection between women’s laughter and virtue in medieval German culture. It will focus on the treatment of laughter in the sculptural representation of the biblical parable of five Wise and five Foolish Virgins, with special attention paid to the statuary in Magdeburg. Magdeburg’s rendition of the parable inspired several later cathedrals, yet not all of its elements were imitated. It remains the only cathedral where women’s smiling is presented positively. By situating it within the larger medieval discourse on women’s laughter, I will show that Magdeburg’s treatment of smiling femininity appears to be one of those exceptions that only prove the rule: that female virtue is ultimately incompatible with laughter.
