Chaucers Feminine Romances - Essay Example

Chaucer’s Feminine Romances The medieval romance is characterized by sweeping adventure and instances of courtly love characterized by chaste maidens and noble knights all woven around some kind of moral instruction. “It taught the aristocracy how to behave in order to maintain the social order, while entertaining them at the same time” (Tillotson, 2006). Among these stories, the primary focus was typically placed upon the action of the story, the battles and the skirmishes that occurred between characters, and the aftermath of such behavior, such as the winning of the lady, the acquisition of worldly fame or the re-enforcement of nobility. However, not all stories followed this basic formula, especially as the written tradition began to grow through the 14th century. As writers began to experiment with various means of recording the stories that had been passed down through the oral tradition as well as working to develop stories of their own, new modes of expression began to emerge. For example, Colin Burrow (1993) assertively states that Chaucer wrote a feminine kind of romance intended to instruct the reader in the importance of shared experience to achieving a full religious morality. By presenting his stories in a way that was considered appropriate and acceptable to his audience, Chaucer strung together a set of stories such as the Knight’s Tale and the Wife of Bath’s tale, that were intended to demonstrate how community served to illustrate gaps in individual understanding – a concept he points more explicitly to in the concluding Parson’s Tale. The concept of the feminine romance has a great deal to do with the underlying structural format of the novel, particularly as it relates to the issues regarding human relationships and how they function to convey deeper personal understanding. For example, studies continue to show even today that women place greater emphasis upon the concept of relationships while men place more emphasis upon action (Schuler, 1975). Given this reality, perhaps the most unlikely of the tales to present a feminine romance might be considered to be that of the Knight’s Tale. This is a story told from the perspective of the noble Knight who values above all things the concepts of chivalry and the ‘right’ place of women within this world. The knight, a man of great wealth, reputation and honor, fills his speech with the courtly manners and chivalric actions that are a central part of his world. “His courtly preoccupation with truth, honor, liberality and courtesy shines through the noble soldiers Arcite and Palamon, illuminating the wise, righteous, merciful ruler Theseus and highlighting the faultless Lady Emily … Fortune and her false wheel control the plot as regal personas are maneuvered by chance and by the gods” (Dosik, 2006). The Knight’s story is full of the importance of honor and oath-taking among men of the nobility. Theseus swears to hold the two nobles Arcite and Palamon prisoner forever, but changes his mind upon the pleading of a friend for the one and the noble escape of the other. Arcite and Palamon swear brotherhood forever, but quickly forget this oath when they each fall in love with Emily. In this sense, Chaucer exposes the hypocrisy of the chivalric code, regardless of the knight’s conception of these actions as of the highest nobility. Instead, Chaucer shifts focus to a consideration of the reasons and motivations of the individual characters. Throughout the story, the object of the young men’s affections is the innocent Emily, sister to Hippolyta who is wife to Prince Theseus. The Knight describes her as “That Emily, who was fairer to be seen / Than lilies rising on their stalks of green / And fresher than the May when flowers are new – / For she contended with the rose in hue” (Chaucer, 2003: 80). The men who fall in love with her from their prison cells, Arcite and Palamon, do so from a great distance and without her knowledge in keeping with the courtly tradition of worshipping womanhood from afar as well as with the isolated nature of female association. Throughout the story, the Knight works to paint an image of the Garden of Eden for Emily to occupy in the position of a goddess or heavenly angel. Her prayer to Diana indicates a strong affinity for her feminine role as well as illustrates her sudden change of heart upon the conclusion of the trial at arms as Diana has indicated she must marry one of the two fighters. Although she hasn’t typified the ideal woman as defined by men in the past, her emotional response to Diana’s command ensures she finds satisfaction within her new position. Thus, the entire story, although considered by the knight to be a story of action and high chivalric character, is exposed instead as a story of individual ideals bent to the whims of the situation at hand. The Wife of Bath, on the other hand, immediately breaks the rules of womanhood by being involved in commerce as a highly skilled seamstress as she is described in the prologue to her story. This vocation allows her to be in charge of her income, something that a true woman of the chivalric code would never have a chance to pursue while still retaining the type of freedom of movement the wife enjoys. With this freedom of commerce, the wife is able to flaunt many other customs by pursuing her own desires and styles of living. She tells lewd tales, has been married at least five times and has countless other lovers besides who are only hinted at with the comment that these marriages were “not counting other company in youth” (Chaucer, 2003: 17). She’s well traveled, having seen such widespread places as Jerusalem, Rome, Boulogne, Santiago and Cologne. Despite her success, the wife’s physical appearance does not present the kind of beauty that would immediately provide her with the type of power enjoyed by Emily. To begin with, she is described as being “deaf in either ear” (Chaucer, 2003: 2). She has a bold face that is fair, yet is also described as red, indicating too much time spent in the weather or perhaps in the beer barrel, further suggesting a lifestyle far different from that of the Lady Emily. While it’s true her attire is described as being every bit as good as that of noble ladies, it is also described so as to indicate an ostentatious, flamboyant personality that demands attention, again flaunting the concept of the genteel woman while highlighting the idea of a freedom and fluidity that enables her to be who she wants to be. Her presentation thus would seem to indicate a need for religious reform at true opposite from the knight’s apparent religious conformity. However, the tale told by the Wife of Bath is almost an exact opposite of that told by the Knight in that it is full of individual depth. She speaks in a plain, straightforward way that includes actions not even recognized by the knight in his tale. Although her story begins with the adventures of a young knight, in true chivalric style, this knight acts most commonly in his first encounter with a woman. “In his path he saw a maiden walking / Before him, stark alone, right in his course. / This young knight took her maidenhead by force” (Chaucer, 2003: 231). Not only is the concept of a ‘maidenhead’ not a part of the Knight’s usual language, the concept of a knight assaulting a woman, whom he’s sworn to protect, in this manner does not fit into the Knight’s view of the world. However, it does present the story from the more realistic terms that would be afforded by a woman, who would not be able to easily ignore such behavior regardless of the status of the woman in question. This crime is made even worse by the qualification that the knight in question was one of Arthur’s knights, the ideal of the chivalric tradition. Through the coarse language used within this story, Chaucer indicates the Wife of Bath has a greater freedom within her speech than that possessed by even the noble Knight, providing her with strength and freedom that is in keeping with the concept of a feminine romance (Bakhtin, 1981). In addition to the differences in basic language used, the story told by the Wife of Bath is of a decidedly feminine perspective, bringing out the female character as a figure capable of possessing power and control. Uncharacteristically, it is the queen who spares the knight’s life following the rape and sends him on his quest. His punishment is to discover the one thing women most want and he must accomplish this task within the space of one year. He fails at this task until he finds an old woman sitting alone in a field. She agrees to tell him the answer but he must agree to accept her proposal of marriage. Therefore, his success is entirely dependent upon the willingness of a woman to assist him in his quest. Throughout this narrative, it is the woman who has complete control over the man; the older she is, the more control she has. It is the woman who proposes marriage and the man who must comply, however unwillingly. Through this story, the Wife of Bath presents an unarguable feminine romance that highlights the need to honor the individual spirit in a more loving and forgiving manner and at a depth unconsidered by the Knight. As can be seen in each of these tales, the outer aspect of the individual is thrown into sharp contrast with the inner personality revealed in their stories. As the Parson points out, the comparison of these stories reveals areas in the teller’s character that could be improved upon that are only brought to light by such comparison. The knight may have all outer appearance of a strongly religious and honorable man, but he has little understanding of the depth of soul required for a true religious mind. The wife may be outwardly course and poorly spoken, but her understandings reach far deeper and provide a light for those who consider themselves better to see their own frailties. References Bakhtin, Mikhair. (1981; 1973). The Dialogic Imagination: Four Essays by M.M. Bakhtin. Ed. Michael Holquist. Austin: University of Texas Press. Burrow, Colin. (1993). Epic Romance from Homer to Milton. Oxford: Clarendon. Chaucer, Geoffrey. (2003). Canterbury Tales. New York: Penguin Classics. Dosik, Diana. (2006). “Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale and Miller’s Tale.” Phillips Academy, Andover University. Tillotson, Diane. (3 May 2006). “Romance.” Medieval Writing. Read More

Throughout the story, the Knight works to paint an image of the Garden of Eden for Emily to occupy in the position of a goddess or heavenly angel. Her prayer to Diana indicates a strong affinity for her feminine role as well as illustrates her sudden change of heart upon the conclusion of the trial at arms as Diana has indicated she must marry one of the two fighters. Although she hasn’t typified the ideal woman as defined by men in the past, her emotional response to Diana’s command ensures she finds satisfaction within her new position.

Thus, the entire story, although considered by the knight to be a story of action and high chivalric character, is exposed instead as a story of individual ideals bent to the whims of the situation at hand. The Wife of Bath, on the other hand, immediately breaks the rules of womanhood by being involved in commerce as a highly skilled seamstress as she is described in the prologue to her story. This vocation allows her to be in charge of her income, something that a true woman of the chivalric code would never have a chance to pursue while still retaining the type of freedom of movement the wife enjoys.

With this freedom of commerce, the wife is able to flaunt many other customs by pursuing her own desires and styles of living. She tells lewd tales, has been married at least five times and has countless other lovers besides who are only hinted at with the comment that these marriages were “not counting other company in youth” (Chaucer, 2003: 17). She’s well traveled, having seen such widespread places as Jerusalem, Rome, Boulogne, Santiago and Cologne. Despite her success, the wife’s physical appearance does not present the kind of beauty that would immediately provide her with the type of power enjoyed by Emily.

To begin with, she is described as being “deaf in either ear” (Chaucer, 2003: 2). She has a bold face that is fair, yet is also described as red, indicating too much time spent in the weather or perhaps in the beer barrel, further suggesting a lifestyle far different from that of the Lady Emily. While it’s true her attire is described as being every bit as good as that of noble ladies, it is also described so as to indicate an ostentatious, flamboyant personality that demands attention, again flaunting the concept of the genteel woman while highlighting the idea of a freedom and fluidity that enables her to be who she wants to be.

Her presentation thus would seem to indicate a need for religious reform at true opposite from the knight’s apparent religious conformity. However, the tale told by the Wife of Bath is almost an exact opposite of that told by the Knight in that it is full of individual depth. She speaks in a plain, straightforward way that includes actions not even recognized by the knight in his tale. Although her story begins with the adventures of a young knight, in true chivalric style, this knight acts most commonly in his first encounter with a woman.

“In his path he saw a maiden walking / Before him, stark alone, right in his course. / This young knight took her maidenhead by force” (Chaucer, 2003: 231). Not only is the concept of a ‘maidenhead’ not a part of the Knight’s usual language, the concept of a knight assaulting a woman, whom he’s sworn to protect, in this manner does not fit into the Knight’s view of the world. However, it does present the story from the more realistic terms that would be afforded by a woman, who would not be able to easily ignore such behavior regardless of the status of the woman in question.

This crime is made even worse by the qualification that the knight in question was one of Arthur’s knights, the ideal of the chivalric tradition. Through the coarse language used within this story, Chaucer indicates the Wife of Bath has a greater freedom within her speech than that possessed by even the noble Knight, providing her with strength and freedom that is in keeping with the concept of a feminine romance (Bakhtin, 1981).

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