In The Knight of the Cart, after Lancelot disposes of an opposing knight and saves a fair damsel, she offers a place of refuge so long as Lancelot sleeps with her. However reluctant, Lancelot agrees and to kill the time between dinner and sleep, he roams around outside the house. When he returns, he finds that another opposing knight "had thrown her [the damsel] down, and was holding her naked and prostrate upon the bed." She cries, "Help, help, thou knight, who art my guest. If thou dost not take this man away from me, I shall find no one to do so; if thou dost not succor me speedily, he will wrong me before thy eyes; shall this man by force accomplish his wish before thy eyes? Gentle knight, exert thyself, and make haste to bear me aid." (9)
[...] On the opposite end of the spectrum, the perpetrators are men as well and are viewed as evil beings who are unable to control their lustful urges. Lancelot's heroism and the opposing knights' evil nature show men as the dominant gender. They are seen as more powerful and having more of a will than women. Their inherently conqueror-like spirit allows them to, depending on their morals, either victimize or protect the fairer sex. Despite the use of the trope, the phallocentric thought of man as the dominant gender is implied in the portrayals. [...]
[...] On Chrétien de Troyes' The knight of the cart In The Knight of the Cart, after Lancelot disposes of an opposing knight and saves a fair damsel, she offers a place of refuge so long as Lancelot sleeps with her. However reluctant, Lancelot agrees and to kill the time between dinner and sleep, he roams around outside the house. When he returns, he finds that another opposing knight thrown her [the damsel] down, and was holding her naked and prostrate upon the bed.” She cries, help, thou knight, who art my guest. [...]
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