| This dissertation examines gender identity in four medieval French texts. By analyzing these works both on their own terms and in the context of modern gender theory, the present study introduces new ways of speaking about medieval gender and sexuality and corrects the current tendency to reduce transvestite identity to one side of a gender binary.;The introduction compares transvestism in hagiography and secular literature and surveys criticism dealing with transvestite narrative. I challenge the assumption that gender origins and differences were uniformly seen as biological in the Middle Ages and turn to analysis of transvestite narratives as proof.;Chapter one analyzes the creation and perception of transvestite identity in Le Roman de Silence, tracing the psychological and physical development of the biologically female protagonist who comes to prefer male identity. Silence's complex identity illustrates that here, gender behavior is not innate, but is rather learned or imposed.;Chapter two's analysis of Le Conte du Roi Flore et de la belle Jehane shows the dual movement of a cross-dressing character who simultaneously raises and lowers her social status as she moves up the gender hierarchy, but abandons her noble rank. While class is here perceived as biologically inherited, gender is perceived as social construct. Chapter three, my analysis of Yde et Olive, traces the evolution of Yde from an undeveloped girl to a robust, male warrior. Although the hero identifies with female identity, her sex change results from the on-going transformation of her body, behavior, and others' desire.;Chapter four examines the different behaviors and preferences of the two transvestites in Tristan de Nanteuil: while one fully assumes male identity, the other wears it awkwardly. Here, gender identity derives from forces other than biological sex, including individual character. One character's sex change reveals that neither sex nor gender is an immutable category.;The conclusion argues that the narratives do not impart a unified statement about gender: gender is not uniformly seen as biologically derived, nor does it function as a purely cultural construct. Rather, these narratives illustrate the multiple factors responsible for identity creation and the insufficiencies of established categories. |
