Rumination #2 – Dual Manipulation of the Sexes

Sir Thomas Wyatt’s “They Flee from Me” poetically describes the chase and loss of a mistress. The poem itself serves as a male sexual fantasy but strays from the literature of its time by incorporating rejection at the poem’s conclusion. This rejection serves as a literary power shift from man to woman and suggests that women, as well as men, are capable of using and manipulating their partners.

The language of the poem, while clearly sexual, is also centralized around the concept of “hunting.” Speaking of his many mistresses, the speaker states that “they flee from me that sometime did me seek, with naked foot, stalking in my chamber. I have seen them gentle, tame, and meek, that now are wild and do not remember that sometime they put themselves in danger” (lines 1-5). In these lines, the women he is referring to are paired with verbs and adjectives that are commonly applied to the actual act of “hunting.”  They are “stalked” in his chamber while barefoot (“naked foot”) which is representative of their inherent vulnerability. Additionally, they are described as “gentle, tame, and meek” and are later considered “wild.” These adjectives, while used to describe the women in the poem, are more commonly attributed animals being hunted. This relationship between mistresses and prey exposes the power that the male speaker holds over the women that he pursues. His elevation in status, however, is not permanent.

Later in the poem, after detailing their sexual encounter, the writer gives the mistress a voice when she asks “dear heart, how like you this?” (line 14). This is the first instance of power being attributed to the woman – the man in the poem is made to answer to her, therefore showing a small shift in their roles. The speaker, softened by the intimacy of their encounter, goes on to say that “it was no dream: I lay broad waking. But all is turned through my gentleness, into a strange fashion of forsaking; and I have leave to go of her goodness, and she also, to use newfangleness” (lines 15-19). This instance ties into the title of the poem, “They Flee from Me” in the sense that after their sexual encounter, the mistress is the one to walk out on him. While not too heartbroken, the speaker is certainly surprised at the role reversal that has taken place after getting intimate with the woman in the poem. She uses him as a gateway into a world of “newfangleness” which is described literally as a fondness for novelty, fashion, and overall fickleness. The woman is able to enter into a realm of elevated status by using her sex appeal to get what she wants from the speaker in the same way that he used his status to get what he wanted out of her. When she is done with him, she casts him off in pursuit of bigger and better things.

In essence, Sir Thomas Wyatt’s poem serves as a commentary on the dual manipulation of the sexes and exposes the underlying incentives behind such encounters between man and mistress.

Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-1542)

They flee from me that Sometime did me Seek

              1They flee from me that sometime did me seek

              2With naked foot, stalking in my chamber.

              3I have seen them gentle, tame, and meek,

              4That now are wild and do not remember

              5That sometime they put themself in danger

              6To take bread at my hand; and now they range,

              7Busily seeking with a continual change.

              8Thanked be fortune it hath been otherwise

              9Twenty times better; but once in special,

            10In thin array after a pleasant guise,

            11When her loose gown from her shoulders did fall,

            12And she me caught in her arms long and small;

            13Therewithall sweetly did me kiss

            14And softly said, "dear heart, how like you this?"

            15It was no dream: I lay broad waking.

            16But all is turned thorough my gentleness

            17Into a strange fashion of forsaking;

            18And I have leave to go of her goodness,

            19And she also, to use newfangleness.

            20But since that I so kindly am served

            21I would fain know what she hath deserved.

Rumination #1 Femininity in Beowulf - A Darker Side

The tale of Beowulf is one of action. Much of the story’s emphasis is on men, battles, and quests for fame instead of  on females or personal relationships. Women are rarely mentioned in the story, with the exception of Wealhteow and Grendel’s mother. The incorporation of these women into the text appears intentional; the author of Beowulf calls into question the delicacy, innocence, and beauty commonly associated with femininity by contrasting Wealhteow and Grendel’s mother in terms of their physical description.

The first mention of Wealhteow in the tale occurs when she is serving the men in the hall. Wealhteow embodies femininity in her physical appearance as well as her actions. She is described as “queen of Hrothgar, heedful of courtesy, gold-decked, greeting the guests in hall; and the high born lady handed the cup […] till come the moment when the ring-graced queen, the royal-hearted, to Beowulf bore the beaker of mead” (lines 614-625).  By engaging in servitude to the men, Wealhteow embraces a traditional female gender role of submissiveness and politeness. Her name is made synonymous with “queen” and “high-born lady” in an attempt not only to compliment her status, but also to praise her for her femininity. In general, she is viewed as innocent, courteous, and essentially untouchable. However, her beauty holds an unmatched power over the men that surround her. Her introduction to the story serves as a manifestation of femininity that the author of Beowulf later goes on to challenge with the addition of Grendel’s mother to the poem.

Instead of focusing on her motherly qualities – such as her desire to selflessly protect and defend her child – the author chooses to focus on the gruesome physical appearance of Grendel’s mother. This is done partly to portray her as inhuman, but also to shed light on an alternative view of femininity. The author of Beowulf writes that “the livelong time after that grim fight, Grendel’s mother, monster of women, mourned her woe” (lines 1261-1263). He utilizes this text not to create sympathy for the mourning mother, but to demonize her by referring to her as a “monster”. Such a description offends traditional views of women as being delicate or docile. Speaking of her later stages of grief, the author writes that “his mother now, gloomy and grim, would go that quest of sorrow, the death of her son to avenge” (lines 1280-1282). In this instance, we are presented with femininity not as a symbol of innocence and purity, but of rage, manipulation, and revenge.

The passages on Grendel’s mother are not the only ones that allow us to examine this tainted, darker side of femininity. The yonic symbols present in the text also compliment this idea. One of the first yonic symbols to appear is the cup that Wealhteow carries to the men in the hall. The cup itself is a symbol of femininity, yet it contains alcohol – a drink that, in excess, can cause people to wreak havoc, harm themselves, or be taken advantage of. In this way, the cup shows a side of Wealhteow that is not explicitly described – her ability to manipulate. Another yonic symbol, the lake where Grendel’s mother resides, is frequently referred to as a “murky moor” (line 1409). The fact that the water is unclear again suggests that something evil lurks beneath its surface. This foggy image also suggests that things are not always what they appear to be, which translates into the idea that femininity too is not always what it appears to be.

This is my test post

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