History of Emotion Part "Un"

DONT BE SUCH A GIRL!




I would love to know what that means. 




The way I see it, to be a female is to posess the biological makeup necessary to be named as such. This of course is the true denotative meaning.  Unfortunately, we live in a world of connotative definitions that seem to be of little value after a year or so. Words are no longer a means of ideas, they are a means of fashion.
Therefore, to be a girl in today's sense is to be weak-bodied, emotional and of course, sexually unaware while simultaneouly a sexual object, to name a few basic categories.


The word I believe to be most imperative that we discuss is 'emotional.'  What exactly does it mean? What levels are there of emotion and what level indicates being emotionally unstable? Also, when is it acceptable to be unstable(because there are perfectly acceptable reasons to lose one's marbles)? I think we need to look through the scope of several time periods and explore what emotional meant at the time and how perhaps they would have responded to such questions. 


First of all, Im not going to travel back to ancient Mesopotamia times. I dont think we need to go that far. A relative pattern is all we need to take a closer look at this idea. So, I will start with the 12th century: chivalry.
Chivalry first began as a means for the church to militarize their respective region and protect their populus from being affected by secularist outsiders.  Knighthood was based on a vow to God to protect the vulnerable and those without resources, espeacially women, children and the poverty stricken.  Their sole purpose in life was to give back to others, spurting a social class geared toward selflessness. Pairing nicely with these ideals was the arrival and popularization of the troubadours (or trobairitz for women) throughout the greater parts of France.  These were travelling musicians who often, like in popular music of today, wrote about lofty ideals, politics and especially courtly or chivalric love.  Now we see two very different kinds of emotion develop: a dutiful and selfless concern, and a whimsical, passion-triggered expression.

This is one of the first times in history where we see emotion truly take off within a culture, aside from the Greco-Roman empire.  But here in the 12th century, we have more information pointing to this fact than in prior ages, particularly due to their fascination with Arthurian Legend.  Although there is no conclusive proof that King Arthur actually existed, most of the validity of these claims begin in the 12th century with writer Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae.in which Geoffrey chonicles the life and times of King Arthur first and then Lancelot and the Holy Grail were later added. 

  Although the existence of said events could be put to question, the stories themselves remained impactful nonetheless. One of the most haunting tales regards the mysterious and tragic Lady of Shallott (also known as the Lily Maid of Astolat) envisioned by several 19th century artists and especially by Lord Tennyson during the Victorian era revival of Arthurian Myth (google the poem!).  Here, we see Lady's unrequited love, Lancelot's gentle manner of being flattered but unable to accept for love of another, Lady's passionate grief and tragic death, Lancelot's brokeness for her no longer beating heart and guilt for his connection to such a devastating event .  Thus, a blending of the two kinds of emotion for the time period are woven into one story: the dedication of a knight and the yearning of a maiden.  At the time, both were seen as perfectly valid as the other and incredibly similar as well as desirable. Both were noble and loyal stances prompted by something outside of themselves: for the maiden, an all consuming passion; for Lancelot, a commitment to God to be a respectful gentleman. Two forgotten yet valuable characteristics of emotion.

As you can see, these qualities and stories are not exactly indicative of today's culture.  Many artists living in the past by choice have attempted to revive these qualities such as Kate Dicamillo, author of The Tale of Despereaux.  She has ingeniously communicated these ideas, not to theologians or philosophers but to

 children. Her success cannot yet be known, but her tactic is certainly applaudable. I will say this for her benefit: chivalry cannot and will not be dead, unless people cease to discuss it.