As the previous chapter has demonstrated, both Elaines hope for companionable marriage with Launcelot, and, failing to secure his affection, they attempt to barter their bodies. Elaine of Ascolat's plight reveals patriarchal assumptions about the social necessity of virginity in a marriageable daughter while Elaine of Corbin's reveals the assumed value of producing children, particularly sons. In the Morte Darthur female sexuality is never simply about a woman's control of her body; familial and even public concerns intrude on her bodily destiny. Whereas for Malory's women, maintaining chastity is required in order to bear a legitimate heir, for Malory's men, no such prescription holds. For the Morte Darthur's fathers, a “natural” view of sex prevails.

With the exception of the “Tale of the Sankgreal,” throughout the Morte Darthur men engage in sex within and outside of marriage. Apart from Queen Guenevere, women conceive children with surprising ease, usually upon the couple first coming together. Arthur's first illegitimate son results from such a fortuitous conception: