Acheflour: Wise Woman or Foolish Female?

The story of Acheflour and her son in Sir Perceval of Galles is a particularly poignant and empowering one for the female reader, but, strangely, this fourteenth-century romance has remained relatively untouched by feminist scholars. The majority of studies of Sir Perceval of Galles, to date, have concentrated on its sources, structure, analogues, and ancient mythic content.¹ Another significant body of work has explored the meaning of the Grail—its presence or absence—in the text.² In this essay I will argue that a reading which focuses on Acheflour and her values, both overt and covert, can highlight the significant challenge which Sir Perceval of Galles poses to the values and underpinning philosophy of androcentric society, be it medieval or contemporary.

The portrayal of Acheflour in the tale of Sir Perceval of Galles differs markedly from both the German and the French versions of this story. Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival and Chrétien de Troyes' tale of Perceval each demonstrate the misogyny characteristic of their age, both in relation to the female protagonists and, specifically, to Perceval's mother and to issues of power and linguistic control. Sir Perceval of Galles, however, exhibits a curious ambivalence towards Acheflour and towards the value systems—social and spiritual—of the two opposing worlds in which the story is played out, the royal court and the primitive forest. While it might be argued that this ambivalence is simply a feature of any male-dominant narrative, psychoanalytic theory clearly demonstrates that areas of ambivalence often provide significant clues to hidden textual meaning. Terry Eagleton proposes that the real meaning of a text lies in precisely these areas, in the

sub-texts . . . the "unconscious" of the work itself . . . what it does not say, and how it does not say it, may be as important as what it articulates; what seems absent, marginal or ambivalent about it may provide a central clue to its meanings.³

This study of Sir Perceval of Galles will, therefore, facilitate a focus on Acheflour and on her values as articulated (albeit ambivalently) in the text. The reading will also provide a structure from within which to examine the male characters in the tale, particularly Perceval "þe fole one þe filde" [the fool in the field] (289), and the impact of Acheflour's value system on her son.⁴ It will challenge the traditionally held interpretations of this poem, which demonstrate a consistent androcentricity and fail to tap the depths of meaning and feminist egalitarian vision present in the text.⁵ The essay will utilize key aspects of Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza's "feminist hermeneutics of suspicion" to question "the underlying presuppositions, androcentric models, and unarticulated interests of contemporary . . . interpretation."⁶ It will explore the role and power of women in Sir Perceval of Galles, the contrast between gynecentric and androcentric values and social systems, and the curious ambivalence with which Acheflour's values and philosophy are discussed in the text. Of particular importance for the contemporary reader of this tale of Sir Perceval of Galles will be the exploration of the range of alternative subject positions available to the female protagonists in the text, and the personal, social, and spiritual implications, for them—and also for the male protagonists—of assuming these alternative and challenging subject positions.

A Classic (Male) Tale

The tale of Sir Perceval of Galles has commonly been viewed as a story of action and adventure, that is, of male action and adventure.⁷ In his quest for such adventure the young Perceval interacts with several women: his mother, Acheflour; the unnamed sleeping maiden; and Lufamour of Maidenland. Each of these women has an integral role to play in Perceval's adventures: Acheflour to prepare him for life in the world of men; the sleeping maiden to provide the magic ring which will protect him; and Lufamour to gift him with the sovereignty of her land...