The Role Of Women In Parzival

Within extraordinary stories such as Lancelot and Parzival, the build up and tension surrounding the quest for romance and self-fulfillment drove the plot, pushing the journey and the protagonist onward until their inevitable endings and resolutions. One of the key themes within the epic romance, though, was the role of women within the male protagonist’s life and personal quest. Women had the ability to play the main love interests and the primary antagonists, as well as the side characters in between who either advanced or tested the male protagonist’s resolve and mental fortitude. This genre depended greatly on the role of women to make a statement on the male protagonist’s emotional and mental strength, often establishing hypothetical markers
Lady Jeschute, wife of Duke Orilus de Lalander, was a minor character and played only a small role in the beginning of Parzival’s journey, but she would later represent a stepping-stone and transition within his life, allowing him to demonstrate his knowledge and understanding of societal life and courtly behavior after years of self-teaching and expedition. Upon their first encounter, Lady Jeschute was asleep; she represented beauty and attractiveness, with a “mouth of translucent red” and “gleaming close-set teeth” that symbolized her wealth and status (76). In her possession, however, was a ring, causing Parzival to remember the words his mother imparted onto him. During and after their initial struggle and Parzival’s theft, he did not understand the full weight of his actions, did not realize the mistake he made against Lady Jeschute. Because Herzeloyde’s instruction lacked any form of context, Parzival misunderstood the words’ true meaning, resulting in him attacking, violating, and humiliating Lady Jeschute, consequently affecting her standing with her husband. As a result of the quarrel and Parzival’s ignorance, not only did Duke Orilus de Lalander reject her for years, but Parzival’s own standing in the eyes of the court was also affected. He was seen as ignorant and his actions were a direct
Cundrie, nicknamed “The Sorceress,” was a notable figure in Parzival who presented him with a different, more intense character arc that he needed to conquer. She was described as an incredibly intelligent character who “spoke all languages” and understood and “mastered astronomy” (163). While not described as physically beautiful or as a typical woman, she instigated the most introspective moment in Parzival’s life. Cundrie was the toughest character Parzival encountered, mainly due to her brazen, fearless, and upsetting personality and refusal to be meek or sidelined; her first encounter with Parzival involved a public shaming where she, quite loudly and extensively, humiliated Parzival for not putting the Sorrowful Angler out of his misery. Her lambasting of Parzival subsequently caused him to go into a period of deep isolation and introspection, pushing him closer and closer to his final goal of self-fulfillment and worthiness in the eyes of those he held dear to him. Her heavy words and criticisms, words such as, “In Heaven, before the seat of the Most High, you are assigned to Hell as you will be assigned here on earth, if noble people come to their senses,” ripped all sense of comfort and inclusion Parzival felt around the courtly nobles (165). He was shoved into such an extreme loneliness that not