From The Archives 15: Silence and Gendered Language

There's this really fascinating epic poem that we read in my Trans-formations in Gender from Ancient Greece to Modern Day class that basically everyone loved because it plays with linguistics and gender in a really cool way, so if that's something you're into, I highly recommend reading the actual text (and if you know French, read it in the original French!).

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May 2018

            How does one define their gender? This is one of the questions asked by the thirteenth-century French romance Le Roman de Silence. Throughout the text, Silence is grappling with their gender identity in the context of everyone else’s opinions. As this happens, their pronouns and their name shifts to reflect different gender identities. The varying pronouns and names demonstrate Silence’s attempts to explore their gender while outside forces constantly try to decide their gender for them. Although the specific use of gendered language and the ending may appear to show Silence’s gender as defined and confirmed, they actually show that gender is much more complicated that what appears on the surface. Since it is unclear what Silence’s actual gender preference is, the pronouns of they/them will be used in this essay.

            Before their birth, Silence’s parents are deciding on a name as well as discussion the consequences of gender for Silence. In order to ensure Silence inherits their land, they decide that if their child is born female, they will hide them as male. To do this, “He will be named Silentius, and if it happens by chance that his true nature is discovered, we will change the -us to -a, and she will be named Silentia.” (Silence 2074-78) From the beginning, they give their child a name with gendered options, Silentius and Silentia, as well as a non-gendered version, which is Silence. Even though they say that Silentius will be the name, the gender-neutral form is the one used the most often throughout the text. The use of the gender-neutral “Silence” along with Malduit, the name used when Silence was a minstrel, allows Silence to explore their sense of self in a context that doesn’t define their gender as officially one or the other. (Labbie 65) Because Silence must act as male in all contexts, very little room is given for them to be able to explore their gender identity. They are given an unconventional situation of gender from an early age, but they never have the time to truly decide what they feel their gender is. They agree to go along with a male identity because of their parents’ explanation, but they often question which gender they actually prefer. The best they can do is to use a name without its gendered ending.

            When it comes to Silence’s pronouns, they/them are being used in this essay. In the story, Silence shifts between she/her and he/him. The timing is notable for pronoun use, because he/him pronouns are used for most of the text, even by their parents, except when Nature and Nurture are debating Silence’s gender, or when Silence is questioning their gender choices. Nature and Nurture are personified as characters in this text, and they argue constantly over which one gets to decide Silence’s gender. During these times, and at the end when the text makes Silence female, the pronouns switch over to she/her. (Cooper 347) It is done in this way to show that the outward gender performance is completely male and that it is entirely an internal struggle that Silence hides very well. The concept of deception is another question Silence mulls over. Silence wonders over the deception of their name and gender, and when that happens, the text reverts back to biological pronouns. However, a switch in pronouns does not mean a switch in identity. The narrator warns in the beginning of disguised speech and of not taking the story too literary. (Kocher 354) The changing pronouns show questioning and gender exploration and how limited Silence is in being able to explore what they feel. 

            Not only does pronoun change correlate to debates between Nature, Nurture, and Silence, but it also always happens within the private sphere. Considering Silence must perform as male whenever they are out in public, it is unsurprising that their questioning happens within the private sphere. The private sphere is usually the place of autonomy for someone to feel in control of themselves and to be able to question and explore without criticism or consequences. (Labbie 66) For Silence however, they do not even have the private sphere to themselves, because Nature and Nurture show up to give their opinions whenever the topic comes up. Because of their constant intrusions, Silence is never given the chance to have autonomy over their gender. Any questioning or exploration Silence attempts is tainted by the forceful opinions of others.

            While both Nature and Nurture are convinced that they are the rightful choice, Silence’s gender is not definitively decided for most of the story. So when Silence runs away to be a minstrel, it is significant that they decide on a name, Malduit, meaning “badly taught.” Silence believes that they “badly instructed as to their nature” and so while they continue to use a male identity during their time off on their own, they use a name that reflects their own conflicted feelings. (Wasserman 106) Even during a time where they are reinventing themselves, they continue to obey their parents’ instructions as to gender presentation for the greater convenience of being male along with the fear of the consequences if they were to switch gender identities. 

Silence’s time as a minstrel is their biggest opportunity for exploration of their self and identities. During this time, Nature and Nurture don’t bother Silence, and Silence doesn’t spend a lot of time thinking about gender. Silence is finally able to explore their self some. In some ways though, Silence replaces his parents and Nature and Nurture with the other minstrels. Because of them, and because of their career choice, they must keep up their appearances as male. Silence is able to explore their interests and autonomy in a place where nobody knows their past. 

            While they do have a feeling of pity for their lonely parents, this is their first real time of happiness. They spend their days being successful at something they chose to leave their home in order to do, and they have the relative freedom to do so. They remain male for the convenience, but they also don’t question their male identity during this point of time. They take on a job that requires the embodiment of different stories, different people, and different genders, and so even though the character of Malduit is male, Silence as minstrel is not defined so strictly to the male, or the female identity. (Cooper 349) Nature and Nurture don’t visit Silence during this time because they are content to have a complicated gender identity that includes the performance and embodiment of both while also remaining male during down time without the constant reminder of others that they are biologically female. By being in a constant state of performance, but on their own terms, they are able to find a place between the public and private spheres where they can be themselves. (Labbie 70)

While Nature and Nurture are constantly involved in Silence’s life, Reason only has one major appearance. When Silence is twelve and questioning their “deception,” Nature shows up and criticizes them for ruining the girl Nature had created. (Silence 2500-2505) During the ensuing fight between Nature and Nurture, Reason shows up and tells Silence to remain a boy. It is hard to argue with Reason because while the Nature versus Nurture debate entails what is morally and truthfully right, Reason is simply arguing for the easiest and most beneficial option. It is undeniable that to live as man had more benefits and freedom than living as a woman, and while hiding ones’ gender is not the easiest, Silence was already in that situation, and good at it. The problem with Reason is that although reason gives the option that makes the most sense, it doesn’t take into consideration what one truly feels is right for them. If everyone chose their gender based on reason, the world would have turned out very differently. Even now, the debate of whether gender is nature or nurture remains undecided. The appearance of Reason gives further context for the construct of gender and proves that it is not defined by reason or logic. 

Even though the ending “confirms” Silence as female, it was never a choice given to Silence.  While Silence may have spent some time debating their gender, they never voice their preference, they only agree with Reason how it makes more sense to stay male, and then accept Nature transforming them into a feminine body when their biological sex is divulged to the court. By going from performing male to female, their name is transformed from Silence to Silentia (or Scilentiä in the original French). The word Scilentiä’s Latin origin of scientia means truth or knowledge, which creates juxtaposition of silence and knowledge aligned with non-biological gender expression versus “proper” gender matching biological sex. (Cooper 359) 

Though it is true that Silence’s biological sex is female, that does not necessarily mean that their gender must also be female. In fact, the action of outing one’s biological sex is known in modern times to be socially disrespectful. Although Le Roman de Silencewas written during a different social context, that time period is not particularly known of being good to those who fit outside normal gender lines. However, this is not debate of how the time period would have dealt with Silence’s gender, but of what Silence’s gender is. The norms of gender expression in different periods, while important, do not indicate what someone’s true gender is, but indicate the expected gender performance one gives. When society believes Silence is a boy, Silence gives the performance of being male. When Silence is outed as biologically female, Silence is transformed into the rosy-cheeked queen as pertaining to the society’s assumption of their gender. 

It is possible that Silence’s true gender is female. It is also possible that Silence gender does not fit within the male-female binary. Despite the fact that the author chose for Silence to transform to being fully female at the end, it should not be assumed to be the real truth of the story. The use of gendered forms of Silence’s name does not fully define their identity. (Labbie 67) A text with gender questioning and transformations places it outside the norm of most stories from that time. By returning Silence to their biological gender, the story follows a more socially acceptable story arc. So much is unknown of the text, that the existence of an alternate ending could be just as possible, whether or not it was ever written. The author spent an entire book’s worth of writing to portray a complicated relationship with gender, yet gave the ending a simple answer to the question of gender. All that is known of the author is their pseudonym, Heldris of Cornwall. It is possible that the author had a complicated gender journey, and perhaps they too were reduced to their biological gender. Perhaps they wrote Silence as content with their biological sex in order to reassure themselves that their biological sex was the “truth.” Even though there is no concrete proof disproving the simple ending to Silence’s gender journey, the lack of information places the truth firmly in the unknown. 

Since Silence cannot tell the readers themselves what gender identity they truly they identity with, and since the readers cannot know how Silence continues to explore gender after the ending, there is only so much that can be assumed. Because of the lack of autonomy Silence was given in being able to explore their gender, their gender is not a definitive as the ending makes it seem. The constantly changing names, pronouns, and performance that occurred throughout the text shows a gender journey in Silence that, if it had occurred in a modern era, may have resulted in a gender identity outside of the gender binary. By writing such a complicated portrayal of gender, the author demonstrated an understanding of gender more inclusive than many texts of their time, and of many centuries afterwards.

Works Cited

Cooper, Kate Mason. “Elle And L: Sexualized Textuality In "Le Roman De Silence.’” Romance Notes, vol. 25, no. 3, 1985, pp. 341–360. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43802010.

Labbie, Erin F. "The Specular Image of the Gender-Neutral Name: Naming Silence in Le Roman De Silence." Arthuriana7, no. 2 (1997): 63-77. Accessed April 15, 2018. doi:10.1353/art.1997.0074.

Kocher, Suzanne. “Narrative Structure of the ‘Roman de Silence: Lessons In Interpretation.” Romance Notes, vol. 42, no. 3, 2002, pp. 349–358. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43803538.

Wasserman, Julian N., Allen, Peter L. “The Ambiguity of Silence - Gender, Writing, and Le Roman De Silence.” Sign, Sentence, Discourse: Language in Medieval Thought and Literature, Syracuse University Press, 1989, pp. 98–110.