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 Ragnelle identifies 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 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?
ReplyDeleteThere are many reasons why Geoffrey Chaucer’s “the Wife Baths Tale” may be considered to show ideas of feminism. When i first read this question i automatically thought that the text showed ideas of anti-feminism, which lead me into believing that Chaucer was an anti-feminist. After i did some research i found out that Chaucer might have been seen as a feminist. The story revolves around “the thing that most women desire”. In today’s generation men still struggle to find out the answer but them you do come across those who seem to conquer and prevail. In this story the answer to the question is “sovereignty”. When look at this situation from a males perspective it can be seen as anti-feminism but i consider myself to be somewhat of a feminist. In the story the king hands the decision making over to the queen which shows that in their relationship the woman is obviously in charge. The ugly old hag in the story seems to have power over the knight which is another factor into ideas of feminism. Even tho she is a very ugly person she is wise and dominates in comparison to the knight being desperate. Believing in equality between men and woman is known as being a feminist. This is why i think the writer expresses themselves through the characters.
Sources:
-Chaucer,G. (c.1390)The Wife Of Bath. Critical Reader 2013
-http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/feminism?s=t
-Carasone, M (2013). Geoffrey Chaucer:Feminist or Not?
http://www.academia.edu/657084/Geoffrey_Chaucer_Feminist_Or_Not
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"...
ReplyDeleteI want to focus on the two tales of 'The wife's bath's tale'(Chaucer) and 'The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell'(Hahn) and how they both have similarities and differences within the two tales.
First i want to look at how the loathly lady is portrayed in both tales.We see in both tales that the main character is a horrible look woman, is some cases almost beast like.
For example in 'The wife's bath tale' we hear of an ugly woman :
“There can no man imagine an uglier creature.” (999)
“For though I am ugly, and old, and poor,” (1063)
“his wife looked so ugly” (1082)
and in the 'The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell' :
As The wedding of sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle,
“Her face was red, her nose running
Her mouth wide, her teeth all yellow.
Her eyes were bleary, as large as balls,
Her mouth just as large.
Her teeth hung out of her lips,
Her cheeks were as broad as a women’s hips.” (P.10).
Both describing an ugly woman. However i do find it interesting that Chaucer chooses to describe the woman as ugly and focusing on that word. Whereas when we look at Hahn's tale we are able to imagine who he is trying to describe. We get words like wide, broad, hung, yellow and bleary to helps us see the ugly woman in our own heads. Both tale's have the ugly woman as the main character however choose to describe her differently.
Next i want to look at the 2 heroes/knights/kings. We see in 'The bath's tale' that the knight is very fixed on her ugliness and nothing else. He would rather give up all that he has in order to not marry the old poor woman.he is portrayed as a hugely selfish man.
However in 'The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell' we fist see the king meet the ugly woman. We see straight away that he doesn't want to see her as he states "I moan. I am woebegone" (p.79). Yet he still proceeds in the asking of her name and telling her to have a good day. We get the impression of a king of character, doing his duties. We then meet the hero, an opposite of the knight in 'The wife's tale' as he says he will marry whomever to honor his king. This shows a selfless man as he is willing to give up his life (of happiness) for someone else.
Overall the two tales do have the same main characters, But very different heroes/knights/kings.
- Chaucer,G. (c.1390)The Wife Of Bath. Critical Reader 2013
- Hahn, T. (Ed.). (1995). The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle. In Sir Gawain: Eleven Romances and Tales. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Medieval Institute Publications.
Question 3.Hahn's essay (see critical reader)on The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle identifies 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?
ReplyDeleteHahn's essay of 'The wedding of sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle identifies the motif of the loathly lady and her ugliness, not only in beauty but we can also see the ugly manners. Hahn states “how the unknown, the marvellous or the threatening, is brought into line...”, This is important because it is relating to the court scene where Dame Ragnelle (the unknown) is being judged as one who doesn't belong (in a place that was of royals and men).
It is interesting how Dame Ragnelle does transform into a woman of beauty and manners after what is seen as Sir Gawain must 'conquer' the ugly woman for the king. Usually this is the other way around where the ugly woman wins in the end with power. However this tale shows the hero (Sir Gawain) sacrificing himself for the king making her a 'proper' woman.
- Hahn, T. (Ed.). (1995). The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle. In Sir Gawain: Eleven Romances and Tales. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Medieval Institute Publications.
WASSUP GUYS :) I would like to answer question 3. 3. Hahn's essay (see critical reader) on The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle identifies the motif of the loathly lady, but argues it has a different purpose than asserting the feminine. What does he think the function of the story is? In my opinion of question 3, Hahn’s essay, The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle mainly argues with the deep-rooted loyalties of Gawain to King Arthur and the strong respect of ranks in the aristocratic class instead of asserting the feminine. In those medieval times, loyalty for their King and keeping ranks in the aristocratic class was the most important things for their life. You can see these points in the text when Sir Gawain heard that Dame Ragnell, the loathly lady wants him as the terms of giving an answer to King Arthur. He answered:
ReplyDelete“I shall wed her and wed her again, Even if she be a fiend. Even were she as foul as Beelzebub, I would wed here, *I swear by the cross.* Otherwise, I wouldn’t be your friend. *You are my honored king* And have done me good many times. Therefore, I hesitate not To save your life, my lord. *It is my duty.* Otherwise, I would be a false coward. *My service is better than that!”*
“As for this,” said Gawain, “It will not stop me. *I will wed her at the time you set.* I pray you worry no more. Though she be the foulest person That ever has been seen on earth, *For you I will not hesitate.”*
As I marked '*' in the text, there are a number of lines that show the point I claimed.
Reference
Hahn, T. (Ed.). (1995). The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle. In Sir Gawain: Eleven Romances and Tales. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Medieval Institute Publications.
I'm also going to briefly expand on Question 1 with reference to the critical reader.. I found that in "The Wife of Bath's Tale" and in "King Arthur meets a really ugly woman" the descriptions of both ugly women are quite crude. In "The Wife of Bath's Tale" it states, "A fouler wight ther may no man devyse (There can be no man imagine an uglier creature)." (999) In "King Arthur meets a really ugly woman" it states, "To recite the foulness of that lady, there is no tongue fit. She had ugliness to spare." (pg 76) Both these texts describe ugly women as extremely unpleasant as if they weren't human but rather some kind of creature. They would do their best to avoid them. The knight and the king were both in a predicament and needed help. The women in both stories offered to help but in return wanted to be married. In The Wife of Bath's Tale, the woman says "that thou take me as thy wife, For well thou know that I have saved thy life". (1055) In King Arthur the woman says "You must grant me a knight to wed." (pg 77) We can see that ugly women are emphasized to be lonely because of their ugliness, and want to have a male companion to wed. Both stories have a similar theme where no one wants to marry the ugly women. It is similar to society today where the beautiful people are on a pedestal where as the people deemed ugly are not welcomed. However, both stories end with relatively happy endings. Where the males shed their shallowness and decide to marry the ugly women.
ReplyDeleteQuestion 2 is quite interesting. Feminism in text has been evident through history. In "The Wife of Bath's Tale" by Geoffrey Chaucer it is somewhat obvious yet again hidden in the subtext. It starts with the queen exempting the Knight from death for committing a rape crime. However, he has 1 year to answer her question or faces death. "What thing it is that women most desire" (905) We can see a power relationship formed from this. The queen has power over this knight which shows that women have power. It also shows that the man is powerless and a slave to her commands. The knight obeys and goes on a 1 year quest to discover what women most desire. He gets a range of answers from women wanting riches to women wanting attention and flattery. However, none seem fit to answer the queen's question. His time is up and he has to return to the castle to answer to the queen. He stumbles across 24 women dancing outside the castle. However, when he approaches the women turn into an ugly hag. She offers to help him answer the question and he agrees. At this point, the Knight is again a slave to another women's orders. He needs the women to help him, signifying that the ugly hag (who is a women) has power and control over him. The knight then returns to the castle to confront the queen and says, "Women desire to have sovereignty as well over her husband as her love, and to be in mastery above him" (1038) All the women in the court room agree. This shows that women do want power, especially at that time in history. They wanted be treated as sovereign or even equal among males. After this, the old hag shows up and tells the knight he must marry her because she saved his life. He has no choice but to agree. Yet again, showing the power that women have over men in this text. I do agree that the text is feminist. Showing that women have power and have control over men.
ReplyDelete