I found many things intriguing
about “The History of Charoba.” First of all, while the tale speaks of the
potential power that women can possess, the King’s dying words of “put no trust
in a woman” and “beware of the craft and subtilty of a woman” present women as deceitful,
and only capable of possessing power through manipulation and
dishonorable ways. In addition, while Charoba eventually did have much power,
she was not the one to devise the original plan, her servant was. Charoba
benefited from the King’s downfall and many kings “feared and respected” her,
but really, Charoba’s servant should have been rewarded. I think that because
Charoba didn’t honor her servant, the tale also presents women in a
conceited, selfish manner. Finally, the incorporation of Charoba and Dalica
both being virgins is fascinating. The tale is almost suggesting that sex makes
it impossible for a woman to remain powerful over a man. I wonder if Reeve is proposing
an unavoidable, female inferiority during sex?
I too am interested in the dynamic between the nurse and Queen Charoba. It is interesting because the women in the story who really exerts her power and her forethought is the nurse not the Queen. We would expect that if a woman was to be powerful it would be the Queen who is by birth more powerful than most people. However it is the nurse is the most powerful and effectual woman. Without her, the Queen would have rested in despair but would not have known how to rid herself of the king. By making the nurse the planner in the scheme against the king, Reeve not only upsets gender assumptions (i.e. the male more powerful than the woman), but also upsets class distinctions. The lower class nurse has more power to plan and execute a plan on the king than the queen herself. Reeve upsets many traditional orders in her text.
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