Weeks 4 - 6
Please use the comments section below for your answers.
1. Cite some variations in the Loathly Lady fabula across the three tales in your Reader. Focus on the conditions by which the lady is either beautiful or ugly, and the actions of the knight/king/"hero"...
2. The Wife of Bath's Tale is considered by some critics to indicate that Chaucer may have been a feminist. Why might they believe this? Do you agree? Remember to cite evidence from the text or some other source.
3.Hahn's essay (see critical reader)on The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelleidentifies the motif of the loathly lady, but arguesit has a different purpose than asserting the feminine. What does he think the function of the story is?
4. In the context of Elizabethan and Jacobean sonnets, how can we define "conceits"?
5. Discuss what you think is the most striking or outrageous example.
6. What does Revard (1997) suggest about the relationship between language, sex, power and transgression in the English Renaissance?
Question 1.
ReplyDeleteIn both the stories, the Wyves Tale of Bathe and Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle, the lady is described as an ugly creature. In line 998-999 is when the knight comes across the ‘ugly’ lady, ‘Save on the green he saw sitting a woman – there can no man imagine an uglier creature.’ The knight asks her to teach him what women most desire to save his life and will repay her. She seems to have the power to save his life and she does by telling him the answer to what woman most desire. In return she wants to be his wife but he refuses but ends up marrying her in secret because he made a promise to repay her. In lines 1219-1235, the knight’s wife presents him with a choice, ‘To have me ugly and old until I die, and be to you a true, humble wife, and never displease you in all my life, or else you will have me young and fair, and take your chances of the crowd that shall be at your house because of me, or in some other place, as it may be.’ The knight then gives her the choice to choose in which she then transforms to a beautiful and young lady.
In the second story of the Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle, King Arthur at the start of the story he comes across a lady who is “the ugliest creature that a man ever saw”. He then marvels at her sight and starts to describe her features, “Her face was red, her nose running, her mouth wide, her teeth all yellow…” The lady then tells King Arthur that his life is in her hands and only she can prevent his death if he gives her a knight to wed. King Arthur gets his right hand man Gawain to wed the lady. Gawain doesn’t hesitate and agrees to marry the lady, “I shall wed her and wed her again, even if she be a fiend. Even were she a foul as Beelzebub, I would wed here, I swear by the cross. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be your friend.” Again, the lady seems to hold the fate of the knight (King Arthur) in the story. However in the third story, Steeleye Span, ‘King Henry’ the lady first appears as a ‘grisly ghost’. Then her features are more described, ‘Her teeth were like the tether stakes, her nose like club or mell, and nothing less she seemed to be than a fiend that comes from hell.’ She then orders King Henry to feed her, both food and drink. King Henry seems afraid of her so he does what she wants. Later she wants a bed and to sleep with King Henry and to take her as his bride. King Henry refuses but in the morning the lady transforms into, “The fairest lady that ever was seen”, because she’d never met a “courteous knight” that gave her what she willed.
The ladies in all the three stories seem to be quite demanding and are variations of the theme of the loathly lady. If their desire is met, which is marriage or having their ‘will’ fulfilled they seem to transform into the most beautiful/fairest lady. The knight in the Wyves Tale of Bathe and King Henry in the third story both refuse and are unwilling to marry the lady. However Gawain, in the second story doesn’t hesitate to save King Arthur by marrying the lady.
The Wife of Bath's Tale is considered by some critics to indicate that Chaucer may have been a feminist. Why might they believe this? Do you agree? Remember to cite evidence from the text or some other source.
ReplyDeletePart I
It is debatable whether Chaucer is a feminist or not as there are elements of feminism present in The Wife of Bath’s Tale (c. 1405-1410). Some feminist critics see Chaucer as a pro-feminist, while others do not. In this post, I will look at two sides of the debate: Is Geoffrey Chaucer a feminist or not?
The Wife of Bath’s tells a story of a young knight who rapes a beautiful young maiden. The people repulsed by the knight’s behaviour and demand justice. Law states that the knight should be beheaded, but the king concedes his authority to the queen after she begs him to be allowed to determine the knight’s fate. The Queen then gives the knight a year to discover “what women most desire” or be beheaded. The knight desperate to live, promises to an old hag that he will do whatever she wishes if she tells him what women really desire. Time passes, and the knight returns to the queen with the answer “Women desire sovereignty over their husbands.” The jury full of women couldn’t disagree with the knight’s answer, the knight’s life is spared until the old hag tells the queen of the knight’s promise to her and demand’s to be the knight’s wife.
The knight, given no other choice, agrees to the wedding with the old hag. On their wedding night, the old hag is upset by the knight’s disgust towards her and asks him is he would prefer an old hag who is loyal, sincere and humble or a beautiful woman about whom he would always have doubts regarding her faithfulness. The Knight responds by saying that the choice is hers. This answer pleases her greatly. Now that she has power over him, the old hag asks him to kiss her, promising beauty and fidelity. The Knight opens his eyes after the kiss and sees a young and lovely woman.
Part II
ReplyDeleteAccording to Oxford Dictionary, “Feminism is the advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes.”
Carter (2003), argues that Chaucer is a feminist as he was sympathetic towards women issues. By portraying the knight in the tale is portrayed as a sexual predator rather than a hero, Chaucer shows that the crime the knight committed doesn’t make him invincible to justice despite his aristocrat sportsman status. It can be argued that by doing this, Chaucer is feminist in nature as he sympathises with the maiden instead of the knight despite living in an extremely patriarchal medieval society where women were viewed differently. Carter (2003) also argues that Chaucer is a feminist due to the feminization of Arthur’s court, the king having to concede his authority signifies legitimate power, which is something not easily attained by the queen. By giving the queen the authority to be the ultimate judge indicates power. Also, the knight is tried by the court full of women. This example solidifies Carter’s argument that Chaucer is a feminist or pro-feminist as the feminine jury in the tale and their power dictates the knight’s fate. This part shows a power shift between a knight, someone who is typically shown as a hero and the women who are typically overlooked during those times.
Hagen (1991), a feminist who apologises for Chaucer limitation in writing female characters, notes that “discrepancy of character that allows an apparently strong-willed female speaker to give a rude, aggressive and insensitive male character [knight/rapist] his heart’s desire by rewarding him a lovely bride. (I’m not sure why he gave that Knight a happily ever after, perhaps it’s because he wanted to give the story a moral lesson)
In my opinion, there are many examples in the tale which illustrate feminist principles however I do not believe that Chaucer was a feminist. I think he was someone who sympathises with women issues and tried to understand the struggle women have in a male-controlled society. I believe that Chaucer was a product of the society in which he lived in and that despite his sympathy for women, Chaucer could not escape the deeply rooted patriarchal beliefs that were dominant during his time.
DeleteReference:
Carosone, M. (n.d.). Geoffrey Chaucer: Feminist or Not? Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/657084/Geoffrey_Chaucer_Feminist_Or_Not
Carter, S. (2003). Coupling the Beastly Bride and the Hunter Hunted: What Lies Behind Chaucer's Wife of Bath's Tale. The Chaucer Review,37(4), 329-345. doi:10.1353/cr.2003.0010
Hagen, S. (1991). The Wife of Bath: Chaucer's inchoate experiment in feminist hermeneutics .
Oxford Dictionary. Definition of feminism in English:. Retrieved from https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/feminism
Hi Keren,
DeleteI found your response and your overall opinion so interesting for question 2. I can see how people would think that Chaucer was a feminist because the roles of the characters and who he has given the 'power' to in the story, which were mainly female. I like that you pointed out that Chaucer also could be seen as feminist by not making the male a heroic figure. Unlike most stories for example the classic story of how the male hero saves the female because the male has all the power. Chaucer could have been a feminist but I thought your argument at the end was quite strong, "that Chaucer was a product of the society in which he lived..."
Question 1: Cite some variations in the Loathly Lady fabula across the three tales in your Reader. Focus on the conditions by which the lady is either beautiful or ugly, and the actions of the knight/king/"hero"...
ReplyDeleteThe ‘Loathly Lady Fabula’ refers to a theme in Middle English stories in which a mysterious lady, typically unattractive gives a target a quest, and upon fulfilling the quest, they are granted with meeting the transformed, beautiful version of the mysterious lady.
The ‘Loathly Lady’ in the Wife of Bath, follows the typical archetype of the character, appearing first as somewhat mysterious and off-putting. The lady then goes on to save the life of the knight, and then marries him through force. However, as the knight is no longer able to bear being married to her, she gives him an ultimatum of either: letting her stay old and ugly but loyal to him, or young and beautiful but will not be with him. “To have me ugly and old until I die, And be to you a true, humble wife, And never displease you in all my life, Or else you will have me young and fair, And take your chances of the crowd That shall be at your house because of me, Or in some other place, as it may well be.” This segment of the story can be interpreted as another part of the ‘quest’ or ‘choice’ that is given by the ‘Loathly Lady’ archetype. As the knight chooses to let the decision fall unto her, the lady turns young and beautiful, yet remains loyal to him, this also being typical of the archetype, with the lady turning young and beautiful, serving as a sort of ‘reward’ to the protagonist.
In the Wedding of Sir Gawain, the portrayal of the archetype differs from the Wife of Bath, as the loathly lady almost threatens the protagonist, King Arthur into getting what she wants. While it can be argued that in the Wife of Bath, the lady forcing to be married to the knight can be interpreted as blackmail, it is important to note that in the Wife of Bath, the lady gave the knight a second chance of whether to live with her or not. Also, it is not the protagonist that the ‘Loathly Lady’ in the Wedding of Sir Gawain asks to be married to, but his friend, Sir Gawain. This is interesting to note, as typically it is the protagonist who is put through the trial and receives the beautiful form of the lady as a reward, but in this story, the protagonist, King Arthur merely relays the task to Sir Gawain, who be the recipient of the reward. King Arthur does receive another reward however, that being his life would be saved, should Sir Gawain marry the lady.
In King Henry, the lady is not exactly portrayed as ugly, but rather frightening. She is described as “nothing less …Than a fiend that comes [from] hell.” And also, compared to the archetype in the Wife of Bath, the lady does not exactly put the protagonist through a ‘surprise choice’ that hinted at a reward, rather she is portrayed more as a monster with great demands. The portrayal of the archetype ends with familiarity however, as she turns beautiful upon her last request being marrying and bedding the protagonist, King Henry.