Unequal Equality: Sex, Adultery, and Female Domination in Hartmann von Aue’s Erec

While some scholars argue that Hartmann von Aue’s Erec (c. 1186) advocates for a more equal form of marriage between its protagonists Erec and Enite, others have rejected this characterization. This essay argues that Hartmann uses the idea of equality of partnership from the theologian Hugh of St. Victor († 1141) as well as contemporary ecclesiastical discourse to craft an unequally equal marriage. Marital sex was the one activity in which most churchmen agreed that husband and wife were equal, and yet it is too frequent marital sex that leads the couple to their crisis. Furthermore, the end of the romance shows a reinterpretation of the earlier crisis as Erec following Enite’s wishes too much, although the couple’s mutual desire had originally been emphasized. The romance also fails to fully condemn Erec’s brutal behavior toward his wife following the crisis, which Enite herself patiently accepts and even harmonizes with their equal partnership. The ending, in which Enite recedes into the background after the couple reconciles, suggests that the romance advocates a form of marriage in which equality exists between the spouses in name only, because true equality appears as female domination. Erec decides how much he should follow his wife’s wishes, whereas she has no choice but to follow his.