de Navarre

Marguerite de Navarre challenged beliefs that were accepted based upon tradition rather than logic or morality. The dominance of men over women as well as the devaluation of lower classes were two perspectives she questions through her work, The Heptameron. In the prologue, there is a drawn out conversation, full of social conventions including praising one’s elders and the bawdiness between man and wife, as well as the practices which encourage morality. Lady Oisille represents the mature and pious opinion that daily studying of scriptures and prayer should occupy the group’s time. The masculine perspective then is shared, when Hircan asserts “bear in mind that we have not yet become so mortified in the flesh that we are not in need of some sort of amusement and physical exercise” (de Navarre 1641). The interplay between the subdued feminine pursuits and virility and power of masculine needs conveys conventional gender stereotypes. However, in the story that ensues, the dangers of masculine vigor and feminine plotting become apparent. Moreover, the silliness of the duplicity between man and wife suggests that those of a higher class are no less flawed than their counterparts of other classes.

From the outset of the story, unequal expectations between men and women are made clear. The reader learns that the man Bornet “wanted […his wife] to be faithful to him, but was not so keen on having the rule applied to them both equally” (de Navarre1643). He pursues the chambermaid, who rebuffs his advances. The chambermaid, representing the lower class, not only avoids being a mistress but also tells her lady of the situation. In return she becomes a pawn in the lady’s plan to trick her husband. Bornet views the chambermaid as a sexual object; the mistress treats her as a means to an end. Ultimately, the story ends with the maid being the most moral character. The lady of the house assumes the sleeping quarters of the chambermaid, having developed a plot to teach her husband a lesson. Both he and his wife are disgraced when she comes to be shared with his friend, and he recognizes “he had gone and given himself a cuckold’s horns and made himself look ridiculous for evermore” (de Navarre 1645). Marguerite de Navarre is considered a champion for those who operate outside of conventional roles or thought, and her work confirms this assertion. Though the wife technically commits adultery, her husband owns the blame for this and a lesson is made of him. His physical desires were base and degraded not only his wife but also himself. The wife seems silly and unfortunate, but her active role is still admirable, despite the undesirable outcome. However, the chambermaid emerges as the most moral character, having avoided the husband’s advances and still retained the trust of her lady. Still, the entire scene is not entirely satisfactory: the chambermaid has little human value given her role in arranging the tryst; the wife is debased and somewhat foolish; the husband is aware of his failings and is not only a lecher but the cause of his own grief as a cuckold.