Wife of Bath AO4 Flashcards
What is the carnivalesque point
social hierarchy is temporarily overthrown.
Give one of Chaucer’s influences
Boccaccio’s Decameron
Who was St Jerome
biblical misogyn
What other story portrays marriage as a good thing
Franklins Tale
What other story portrays marriage as a bad thing
Merchants Tale
Which texts do the Kitteridge marriage debate include
The Marriage Group contains the tales of the Clerk, the Merchant and the Franklin
Describe the merchants tale
January and May are married. Yet May and Damien have an affair in a tree. May talks her way out of the situation.
Give three influences for The Wife of Bath
Decameron
Romaunt of the Rose
Fabliaux- other European stories
Describe the nature of ‘Gentillesse’
A ‘gentil man’ is one who is ‘moost virtuous always’. It’s expressed by noble actions and is god-given, not inherited
Why does Jankin cite the ‘wikked wyves’
Following medieval practice
Middle ages gave precedence to the power of authorities and so Jankin uses these to support his arguments
What crime does the knight, in the Wife’s tale, commit?
Rape
What is the normal sentence for rape
Beheading
What allusion is used to suggest women cannot keep secrets
Ovid’s myth of King Midas and his wife
Before the Knight meets the loathly lady, what does he see
Dancing ladies
What are the ‘Three estates’
1st Estate: Clergy “Those who pray”
2nd Estate: Nobility/Aristocracy “Those who rule”
3rd Estate: Commoners “Those who work”
Unofficial 4th Estate: Women
What was the view of women generally
The second sex (daughters of Eve) - Tricky, troublesome, the cause of man’s downfall - A woman became a man’s property on marriage
What were women’s areas of power/influence
The Church (nunneries) - Trade skills - Weaving. Weavers were part of the greatest industry in the land. Skilled workers were valued.
What is anticlericalism?
Attacking the church, such as friars and so-called celibate priests
The WoB demonstrates her dominance through what plain aspects of her Prologue?
Its length and her refusal to be interrupted
Which 3 aspects of the Tale make it particularly feminist?
- A Romance narrated by a woman
- A female character with long speech
- The knight sent by Queen not King
What was the Catholic church like during Chaucer’s time?
Whilst the poor were starving, the church was building new, expensive buildings - many people satirised clergy for feasting whilst the peasantry were dying of hunger
Several of Chaucer’s associates were Lollards. Where can this influence on him possibly be seen in the Wife’s tale/prologue
1) Lollards favoured widows remarrying – the Wife could be a personification of this. 2) According to the Twelve Conclusions of 1395, Lollards believed that God made man to procreate, and as the Wife says, “God bade us for to wexe and multiplie; that gentile text kan I wel understonde”
What did the black death cause
social dislocation, fall in agriculture and industrial production, scarcity in labour, sharp labour wage rise
What is exegesis
critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially of scripture.
