Luck Be a Lady to Knight: A View of Women in Western Lit

The Renaissance is a period of about 250 years in Western Civilization that marks the end of what we call the Middle Ages. It is the era of European culture that saw the death of feudalism and the growth of nationalism. It witnessed the end of the unilateral power of the church and the beginning of the modern nation-state. And yet is was a "rebirth" in several important ways: First, it was the rebirth of classic Greek and Roman ideas. The rediscovery of ancient texts (and the growth in literacy) fueled the Renaissance thinkers. Second, it was the rebirth of interest in the physical world; while Medieval Europeans were largely concerned with the afterlife, Renaissance thinkers turned their attention to the way the world and nature functioned. This, in turn, gave rise to a third rebirth in interest in the sciences and humanities, which lead to drastic technological advances and geographic discoveries. The broadening of the Renaissance man's world--indeed, the shifting focus away from God to man--is perhaps the single most significant "rebirth," placing man at the center of his own universe.

Europe during the Renaissance was still, then, a "man's world;" as we look at our next frame story, Boccaccio's Tale of the Falcon, we are reminded of themes brought up by Chaucer, and must also be conscious that we are still looking at a view of women through the eyes of men. To give some background on the importance of Boccaccio's work: he set out to authentically represent the Renaissance confidence in human ability and delight in the diversity of human experience. His overriding theme asserts throughout his hundred tales that a truly noble individual must accept the consequences of his actions and confine his desire to what is humanly possible. In that, though, he insists that what is humanly possible is a usually a great deal, and that we can often overcome our fortune or learn to exploit it.

Boccaccio is quite sympathetic and understanding towards human aspirations and emotions. He creates a "hero," Federigo, who is sympathetic and who we can relate to. But what about the woman in the tale, Mona; although we can maybe relate to her paternal motivations, is she sympathetic? Do we pity her? Despite her desire to save her son, do we approve of her methods of obtaining the falcon? What is being said about Renaissance women here?

It seems that there are, at least, two ways we can read the women we've encountered in the the literature we've covered thus far: they are either getting a bad rap, or they are being (somewhat) accurately portrayed. Let's look at the roster:

• Jocasta. She was actually a pretty good mom to her husband, Oedipus, once she found out that he was her son. Ignore the fact that she sent her infant son to die in the wilderness based on a prophecy; that's how the Greek's rolled. You don't mess with the prophecies. You do what you have to do, or risk the wrath of the gods. 

• Helen (of Sparta). Okay, no way to spin this one positively; she single-handedly led to the 10-year conflict, the Trojan War. But she did it for love (right?). Ignore the fact that she was married at the time; that's how the Greek's rolled. You don't mess with the will of the gods, or...  well, you get the picture.
  

• Trojan Women. We get just snippets of other women connected to the Trojan War--Hector's mother and wife, Achille's slave-girls, even the goddesses who intervene on the side of the Spartans (Hera, Athena, Thetis). Maybe we don't get enough from them to draw any conclusions...

• Roland's Wife. Hmm, all we know is she's the reason why Ganelon hates Roland so much and sets him up for the big fall. She's not even a character in the story, and she's still causing problems...

• Chaucer's Angels. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) We already discussed last blog the various women Chaucer depicts in his Cantebury Tales. Each of them really represents a one-dimensional quality of women; taken together, maybe they give us a complete picture of what Chaucer thought of the women of his day. But, again, we are stuck looking through Chaucer's eyes. 

• Dante's Angel. All we know of Beatrice in real life is that he loved her but was never really able to pull off a relationship with her. In the story, she is the one who sends Virgil to rescue him and join her in the Mount of Joy, Heaven. She serves as a beacon to him, although we never see her in the story, and in some ways is responsible for Dante's transformation (or, at least, his journey). 

We have quite a character to round out the list: the wealthy and wily Mona. This collection of women gives us quite a bit to discuss in terms of the role of women in society and marriage...

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CRITICAL QUESTIONS

1) Think about the questions from the seminar prep (p. 26-27 in the packet); what are the most important traits you (personally) look for in a significant other? As a follow up question, think back to the "Wife of Bath" interviews; what do you think causes relationships to succeed or fail? (Answer both.)

2) Think about the female figures we've encountered in the literature we've read thus far; which character do you relate with most? (Okay, fellas--you can answer this question also. Which character do you relate to; in other words, which one makes the most sense to you?) Is there a female character we've read that gives us a depiction of women that's actually close to reality? Specifically, what is your judgment of Mona?

3) Think about the following statements, and consider the response by the "experts." What do you think about these statements? What do you think about the expert opinions? Choose two statements to respond to:

a. Play Hard to Get
Sam Yagan, dating-website cofounder: Playing hard to get starts the relationship off on a deceptive foot. If you want your relationship to be based on trust, honesty, and communication, why would you begin it like that?

Greg Behrendt, coauthor of He’s Just Not That Into You: You shouldn’t play hard to get; you should be hard to get, because your life is so busy and fulfilling. My wife and I call it being a MOD―a moving object of desire.

b. Your Spouse Shouldn’t Be Your Best Friend
Pepper Schwartz, sociologist: I agree. I think you’re asking a lot of your marriage to have the level of confidentiality, truthfulness, and disclosure that a best friendship has. Your marriage can fulfill only so many roles.

Barbara De Angelis, personal-development expert: I disagree. If your spouse isn’t your best friend, then what is he? I think it’s important that you not only love him but like him a lot, too.

John Gray, author of Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus: I have no problem with partners who are best friends, but you should have other close friends to confide in as well―especially when you are having relationship difficulties and need time away from your spouse. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

c. You Can Learn to Love Someone
Judy Kuriansky, sex therapist: That’s true, depending on how you define love. You may not have the love-at-first-sight kind of love, but the deep companion kind of love―in terms of trusting each other and being a team―can develop over time.

Behrendt: No, that sounds like settling. I don’t believe in settling, because it’s not fair to the person you’re with or yourself. It’s not like settling on an apartment you don’t love but can live with.


d. There Is Such a Thing As Love at First Sight
Ellen Wachtel, couples therapist: False. Often it takes time for love to develop. For some people, physical chemistry plays such a big role at the outset that it is mistaken for love.

Schwartz: It’s a romantic story when it works out, but you don’t hear about the relationships that end badly. Relationships start slow and build; they aren’t necessarily wonderful from the start.

Howard J. Markman, psychologist: You’ll quickly know if you’re attracted to each other, but not if you’re compatible or fit to stick together through tough times.

e.The Way to a Man’s Heart Is Through His Stomach
De Angelis: The way to a man’s heart is through his heart. Men want a woman who is going to be a great friend and companion―and if they have to order takeout, so be it!

Kuriansky: It’s true if he loves food, but that part about having to feed the needs of his heart is true, too. Still, don’t lose sight of your own needs. For a relationship to be successful, both partners need to feel pleased and fulfilled.

Gray: You’re off by about six inches. Sex is the direct way to a man’s heart.

Mr. Franklin, teacher extraordinaire: The way to a man's heart is through his rib-cage.

Go to Hell: Understanding Dante's View of the Inferno

Dante's Inferno stands among Western literature as one of the great masterpieces, and for very good reason: Dante did a feat of poetic genius in creating such an eloquent poem in vernacular (what we could consider "street" language--we, of course, have a hard time seeing this in the translations!). Perhaps more lasting is Dante's impact on the Western view of Hell. The idea of hell as a place of fiery torments with imps carrying pitchforks is popular largely because of Dante's imaginative descriptions. (PS--Have you ever wondered why they're carrying pitchforks? The Medieval people created some pretty gruesome torture devices; being chased by a pitchfork seems like hell for a farmer!) The Inferno is an allegory, which means just about everything symbolizes something. So, without further ado, here are some things to understand about Dante's view of hell:

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1) STRUCTURE and SYMBOLS. Dante sets up hell on the principle of inverse relationships. Heaven for him was on top of a mountain (of joy), so hell for him is the inverse (a cone of concentric rings, a pit of despair), the worst sinners being at the bottom, the furthest from God's love. The law of hell is symbolic retribution, or contrapasso--as they sinned, so are they punished. Each ring has its own sin and punishment (the contrapasso, which we'll see later), and the sins are further divided into categories:

• Sins of the She-Wolf. Sins of Incontinence, or lack of self-control or restraint--sins of passion, emotion, and self-gratification. These are the first sorts of sins Dante encounters in the Inferno, but it is the last and most vicious of the animals he encounters in the Dark Wood... more on that later. 
• Sins of the Lion. Sins of Violence and Ambition. These include sins such as wrath, but also gluttony and sullenness. This is the ring where we get to see what we expect from hell--not a circus ring, but a boxing ring. This is where Jerry Springer-style fighting happens. 
• Sins of the Leopard. Sins of Malice and Fraud. These are sins of the intellect, unlike the previous sins, which are of the heart and emotions. Dante puts these further down the Inferno because they involved premeditation and intention, people hurting those they had an intimate relationship with, through betrayal or backstabbing. 

This is Dante's moral geography; aside from literally creating a map of hell, he also ranks and values the different sins and sinners he populates hell with. Moreover, his system of justice is the contrapasso, which is the relationship between the sin and the punishment. People that were flakey in life (opportunists) have to chase a flag flapping in the wind. People that were driven by their passions are whipped in a whirlwind. People who betrayed their loved ones are frozen in ice (huh? Okay, that one needs some explanation--check the introduction to Canto 32, which you can find on the class website!). 

Now, Dante (the character, not the author) finds the She-Wolf the most difficult, nay, impossible to pass. Think about what Dante (the author, not the character) was going through; he was suffering the exile from his beloved country and the loss of his love, Beatrice.  He was in a depression that kept him from seeing the light of God--no wonder this was the most difficult thing for him to face. There's one more thing to focus on, which connects to this...

2) THE RESPONSE. As Dante moves through the Inferno, his response to the sinners changes. This is the transformative journey motif, and this is the medieval spin on that topic: he achieves his enlightenment (and thereby works out his salvation) as he goes through the journey, not when he reaches the end. Remember the sin he had the most trouble with (She-Wolf)--well, these are the sinners he is the most sympathetic to. Not only does he give them the lightest punishment (Paolo and Francesca, floating together for eternity--aww), BUT he also pities them when he encounters them. He swoons (faints) because he is so overcome by their love and the fright of it all. Talk about a drama queen. By the time he gets down to the bottom, he hates the sinners, and relishes seeing them in torment, and doesn't hesitate to kick a few in the frozen face right before he hops on Satan to climb towards the exit. Change of mind, indeed. Thus, the first part of his journey--the recognition of sin--allows him to put sin in its proper place, so he can be open to redemption and the love of God.

3. THE PARADOX. I left this one un-bolded because it's probably the most touchy, and we won't have time to discuss this much in class. Dante sets up an interesting paradox: he believes the people in hell deserve to be there because they desire to be there (check Canto 3 line 123, and Canto 5 line 8). Hell, and therefore Sin, is what the damned really wish for--it is their actual and deliberate choice, for divine grace is denied to none who wish for it in their hearts. The damned must actively turn from and reject God to be here, so they clamor for their judgment and their punishment. Do we buy this? Here's the second can of worms: according to the sign above hell, God created hell (not the devil), and He created it even before He created man. In other words (or, in Dante's words), loving, merciful God created this terrible place in preparation for people before He created man, knowing that some would suffer the torments for eternity. This is a theological debate that is delicate, and I don't have an answer to it (so I won't be posing any questions about it)--just food for thought.

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Keep these things in mind as we read and prepare to write: Dante's system of justice seems like the "eye-for-an-eye" system of the Old Testament (angry God), as opposed to the unmerited grace of Christ int he New Testament (merciful God). What do we think of his system and set-up of Hell? Also, think of Dante's transformation through his journey; does he qualify as a hero? Remember the shift we're seeing from the Classic (Greek) to the Medieval; would we consider Dante a hero even with the new standards?

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER/CRITICAL RESPONSE:

1) Do you agree with Dante in how he rates the sinners? He places people who lie further down than people who murder and rape. He's certainly got a point to make, but did he get it right? If so, why do you agree with him? If not, why do you disagree, and how would you place the sinners?

2) What is the worst sin imaginable? Or, what is a  sin that's not so bad, but that you'd like to see punished? Imagine that Dante and Virgil are about to enter a new circle of hell. People in this circle have all committed the same sin. Decide what sin they have committed and what this particular circle of hell is like. Also decide what their punishment is (remember, it should fit the crime). Be vivid in your description, like Dante, and include an encounter or conversation he has with someone there. Include the names and labels just like we find in our book. With your write-up, include an illustration!

3) What is your idea of hell? Create and describe a rough sketch of your Inferno. Who would be your guide? What would you encounter in life that gave you a preview of the afterlife (ie, like the three animals Dante encounters)? Which sins would you have the hardest time overcoming, or the most sympathy for? How would your hell be shaped, and how would it function? Who would we find there, and what would be going on? This can be less detailed than #2, but should be a bit more broad to encompass the big picture. Include a sketch on your write-up!

4) What would Dante's Inferno look like today? Take the basic structure of the Inferno, and populate it with people who have lived since Dante's time. You may also include people that are living (as Dante did), though you may want to be cautious about including your "frenemies." Focus your description on the parts of the Inferno that we read in class (Cantos 3, 5, 33, 34) AND the circle you're reading for your group presentation.

The View of Women in "The Wife of Bath's Tale"

The View of Women in "The Wife of Bath's Tale"

Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is an incredible piece of literature not just because of what it did for the English language (making it legit), but because of the themes and topics it explores. Chaucer not only gave a language to the illiterate of medieval England, he gave them a voice; he wrote from the perspective of people who previously had no voice in literature, people from all levels and walks of the feudal society. "The Wife of Bath's Tale" is one of the more well-known of his tales, perhaps because it deals with one of the oldest of literary and human themes--the relationship between men and women.

Women did not have equal standing to men in medieval society, so it's notable that Chaucer writes in the voice of a woman--and quite a woman at that--critiquing the treatment of women by men. And the critique of the treatment of women by men was by a man, which makes him an early feminist...maybe. There are at least three levels to consider:

1) The Women of the Tale. In the story, we encounter four women: the nameless maiden, who is raped by the knight; the queen, who offers him his life in exchange to answering the question of what women want; and the old hag, the fairy who gives him the final trial and his final reward. The fourth "woman" in the tale is the group of women the knight asks the question to, who offer him a variety of answers, some noble, some shallow. To contrast, the only men in the story are the knight, who is clearly not adherent to the code of chivalry, and whose redemption at the end of the story is questionable; and the king, who is merciless in condemning the knight's actions, and only relents at the queen's behest. All of these characters are, for us, snapshots of medieval societal views, but for Chaucer, they were the predominant opinions of the day.

2) The Wife. Chaucer offers a description of the "fifth" woman of the tale in the general prologue to the Tales (I read just the beginning to you in class in Middle Englishe), and she (the Wife) also gives us some important info about herself in "her" prologue to her own tale (you get just a snippet of this in the background article in the textbook, right before the reading selection). Well, we don't get most of this information in the textbook, so here's a synopsis:

The Wife, whose name is Alison or Alice, is described as "larger than life" with "broad hips, a big butt, a hat as big as a house"... and a mouth to match. With a red face, red stockings, and a gap between her teeth, she matches the medieval stereotype of a "lustful person." She has had many husbands, and has acquired a considerable wealth in the process. She also refers often to how she dominated her many husbands in different ways, a theme that of course comes up in the story.

3) The Chaucer. Chaucer held many positions in life, and therefore drew from personal experience to write many of his tales. However, he also drew from societal stereotypes in characterizing many of his characters, which he does in great detail throughout the work. What's interesting in taking on the voice of the Wife is that he is simultaneously using stereotypes of women, but also criticizing the unequal status of women in society. He is, in some ways, advocating on behalf of women who may not have had a voice; he is still a man, though, and so his vocalization of the desires of women are ultimately just what a man thinks women want. That's the one are of his writing that does not reflect his personal experience...

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So, looking that these three levels of discourse on women, here are a few CRITICAL QUESTIONS to consider:

* Is there a fair portrayal of women on any level of the story? Does Chaucer get it right, or is his portrayal inherently flawed because, after all, he's just a man? Address each of the 5 women depicted in the story.

* Here's one from class: Think about the end of the story--the man concedes, but still gets the pretty girl. Is his redemption complete? Do we buy this? Another way of thinking of it is this: there are actually two trials the knight goes through. First, he must find the answer to the queen's question to make up for raping the maiden. He does go about it the right way--he asks a bunch of women, and one of them eventually gives him the right answer--but does this satisfy our need for justice? Does this offer retribution for the rape of the maiden? The second trial the man goes through is in answering the old hag's ultimatum: he concedes in giving her the mastery, and he gets the "prize" for passing the test. Are we satisfied with this ending? Does he really wish her his master, or his equal, or does he simply want to shut her up? Address whether Chaucer offers the man a complete, fulfilling redemption.

* Also from class: The more things change, the more they remain the same. Chaucer's Tales were composed near the end of the 14th century; nearly 600 years later, has anything changed about the role of men and women, and the interaction between them (well, clearly some things have changed--dudes aren't rolling up on horses raping maidens any more, but that's maybe only because we don't use horses for transportation any more...)? Does Chaucer hit on a truth about the nature of women and men in society, or are his ideas outdated and irrelevant? Compare Chaucer's views to contemporary views on women and men.