Three Methods for Reading the Thirteenth-Century Seinte Maherete: Archetypal, Semiotic, and Deconstructionist

by Robyn Cadwallader

This study investigates the implications of the portrayal of the virgin martyr as dragon-slayer. An initial reading of the thirteenth-century text of Seinte Marherete would suggest that Margaret’s

420 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Robyn Cadwallader has spent much time and energy teaching creative writing and all kinds of English literature at university, with a special interest in medieval literature. She writes poems and short stories, and her novel The Anchoress won the Varuna LitLink NSW Byron Bay Unpublished Manuscript Award in 2010. Her PhD thesis about female virginity and agency, Three Methods for Reading the Thirteenth-Century Seinte Marherete, is a study of the story of St Margaret of Antioch, patron saint of childbirth, who was swallowed by a dragon and burst out its back, proclaiming herself a hero.