Ogling Ladies: Scopophilia in Medieval German Literature

2. “Wild glances”

2 “Wild glances” W I N S B E C K I N A N D D E R R E N N E R The male author of the Winsbeckin text depicts a conversation between a girl and her mother about how to navigate through life without running afoul of medieval society’s standards of decency.1 Recently published collections —for instance, Mark Johnston’s anthology Medieval Conduct Literature —have included the Winsbeckin text as a work of conduct literature. At first glance this designation seems justified, since the text treats the education of a young woman. A closer reading, though, reveals this classification as problematic. Winsbeckin is, I believe, not conduct literature at all but rather a misogynist attempt at parody of the conduct genre, specifically of the preceding Der Winsbecke text. The dubious advice given by the mother character is too subversive and too hyperbolic to be taken at face value. For our purposes, however, the text is quite illuminating: it illustrates the male author’s fear and dread of female sexuality; it stands for patriarchal suspicion and mistrust of women’s secret dealings in general, and the desire to suppress the female sexual gaze in particular. The Winsbeckin text is attached to the didactic poem Der Winsbecke, attributed to an anonymous author referred to as “der tugendhafte schrîber,” a nobleman from Windsbach in the Frankish region. The poem contains conduct advice from an old knight to his son. Chivalry and love, proper behavior toward one’s fellow men, ladies, and clergy are central concerns. Der Winsbecke is a true piece of didactic writing advocating laudable qualities such as loyalty, compassion, truth, and generosity. It emphasizes a knight’s dual obligation of serving both the world and God. 22 Ogling Ladies: Scopophilia in Medieval German Literature The Winsbeckin text, which is linguistically and poetically inferior to Der Winsbecke, portrays a dialogue between a mother and her daughter; the mother character attempts to indoctrinate the girl in what she considers advantageous conduct in society, especially concerning courtship and matrimony . The most important thing in life, according to this male-authored female personage, is to keep up appearances of honor and virtue in order to trick a man into marriage. As the mother shares her questionable wisdom with her daughter, her main message is that a young girl can achieve happiness and a good life only if she publicly if not genuinely conforms to the male ideal of a woman. Looking/gazing plays a significant role in this instrumentalization—in particular, the specific emphasis the mother places on something she calls “wilde blicke” (wild gazing). The first mention of the female gaze occurs in the third verse: “wol mich, daz ich dich ie gesach!” (stanza 1, l. 3; I am blessed that I ever saw you!). The mother character, in a peculiar laudatio of her daughter’s appearance, mimics a suitor’s voice, announcing how blessed she was for having caught sight of the girl and not, as would seem more logical, by knowing her, being related to her, or having brought her into the world. She hyperbolically equates her daughter’s familiar vision with the glorious arrival of spring. This comical simile, which is best understood as a parody of courtly love poetry, foreshadows how the mother character attempts to indoctrinate her daughter with a mocking patriarchal viewpoint: keeping up both her appearance and appearances will allow her to deceive and seduce male onlookers . The daughter’s response picks up her mother’s preoccupation with looking and being looked at. After the elder Winsbeckin admonishes the younger to praise God, the girl replies: Des volge ich, liebiu muoter, dir, ich lobe in, so ich beste kan. er sol der sinne helfen mir, daz ich in sehe mit vorhten an (stanza 2, ll. 1–4) (I will follow your advice on that, dear Mother, I shall praise Him as best I can. He shall help my senses so that I can gaze upon Him with fear.) “Wild glances”: Winsbeckin and Der Renner 23 Her worship of God is naively vision-based: “that I can gaze upon him with fear.” The cynical narrator portrays the girl as an innocent simpleton. She appears sweet enough; she is obedient and submissive to her mother, respectful of the authorities, and eager to learn. Her mother’s instruction in women’s guile has not yet corrupted the girl, but, the narrator...