Representation of Women in the Old English Texts of 'The Wife's Lament','The Life of Saint Aethelthryth' and 'Judith'

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Essay from the year 2019 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,7, Swansea University, language: English, abstract: This essay discusses the representation of women in the texts "The Wifes Lament", "The Life of Saint Aethelthryth" and "Judith". It examines if and how these women are given voices and subjectivity. Literature from Anglo-Saxon times provides us with a picture of heroic battles, brave lords and warriors, bishops and martyrs. However, in the background of all the noble men and their deeds, there is another crucial part of this society which is often left out: women. Few texts from that time actually present a woman as the main character or even mention a woman, which already tells us a lot about womanhood at that time. It seems like it was percieved as something not worth writing about. While considering that, the works that actually do feature women provide interesting insights about the meaning of femininity and being a women in Anglo-Saxon times, while all depict women in a different way.

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