April 5 lecture notes
I. 2:10—2:35
quiz 2 and answers
A.
A response to yesterday morningÕs
email from an old friend, about driving his daughter and her child a thousand
miles from Calgary to Nanaimo
B.
A
Chaucerian moment related to the description of the Monk in the General
Prologue
II. 2:35—3:00
MillerÕs Tale
A.
reading selections biased toward the lusty--pleasure and
prohibition; most tales are—proceed at your peril
1.
And therfore every gentil wight I preye,
For goddes love, demeth nat that I seye
Of yvel entente, but for I moot reherce
Hir tales alle, be they bettre or werse,
Or elles falsen som of my mateere.
And therfore, whoso list it nat yheere,
Turne over the leef and chese another tale;
For he shal fynde ynowe, grete and smale,
Of storial thyng that toucheth gentillesse,
And eek moralitee and hoolynesse.
Blameth nat me if that ye chese amys.
The millere is a cherl, ye knowe wel this;
2.
In fact, the delight in the variety, vividness and impact
of dirty language and stories—Comic rhetoric—like the Wife of Bath
B.
Miller in the GP
1.
The millere was a stout carl for the nones;
Ful byg he was of brawn, and eek of bones.
That proved wel, for over al ther he cam,
At wrastlynge he wolde have alwey the ram.
He was short-sholdred, brood, a thikke knarre;
Ther was no dore that he nolde heve of harre,
Or breke it at a rennyng with his heed.
His berd as any sowe or fox was reed,
And therto brood, as though it were a spade.
Upon the cop right of his nose he hade
A werte, and theron stood a toft of herys,
Reed as the brustles of a sowes erys;
His nosethirles blake were and wyde.
A swerd and bokeler bar he by his syde.
His mouth as greet was as a greet forneys.
He was a janglere and a goliardeys,
And that was moost of synne and harlotries.
Wel koude he stelen corn and tollen thries;
And yet he hadde a thombe of gold, pardee.
A whit cote and a blew hood wered he.
A baggepipe wel koude he blowe and sowne,
And therwithal he broghte us out of towne.
C.
Prologue—multiple contrasts to KnightÕs prologue and
tale—Maistrie vs. Gentilesse
1.
Knights tale is noble and heÕs gentle and modest about
beginning—defers to host
2.
Miller insists on coming next; host accedes
3.
Miller excuses self by saying heÕs drunk; blame it on the
Ale
4.
Gets into fight with Reeve when saying its about a
Carpenter victimized by a clerk—Reeve says donÕt defame wives
a)
Miller
says ÒWho has no wife he is no cokewoldÓ
b)
He
trusts his wife, but wont inquire too strongly into her virtue
D.
2:40
MillerÕs Tale
1.
General
a)
Fabliau:
dirty story—a favorite--verse tale satirically deals with sex and
money—Òharlotrie they toldenÓ referring to Miller and Reeve
b)
Structure
is revenge or ÒquittingÓ—outsmarting and trickery and the trickster
tricked
2.
The Tale
a)
Characters
introduced—Y vs. A
(1) stupid old rich and doting
carpenter, Oxford
(a) *The old jealous
carpenter—didnÕt know that Òyouth and eld is often at debaatÓ and old men
shouldnÕt wed young girls
(b) January-May: The MerchantÕs Tale
and Wife of Bath; PardonerÕs Tale
(2) Smart and sexy clerk, hende
Nicolas,
(a) a winner; musician, partier,
springtime lover lives in his house
(b) Astrology—Biblical and
ÒscientificÓ erudition and pretense
(c) Allusion to NoahÕs
Flood—cleansing the world of sin—all the characters are
sinners—all have basest motives
(d) Noah story of deliverance—us
and not them
(3) Alison—appreciated by the
Miller; animal vitality and lustÉ125-162—sheÕs the big winner
(a) Fair was this yonge wyf, and
therwithal
As any wezele hir body gent and smal.
É
And sikerly she hadde a likerous ye;
Ful smale ypulled were hire browes two,
And tho were bent and blake as any sloo.
She was ful moore blisful on to see
Than is the newe pere-jonette tree,
ÉBut of hir song, it was as loude and yerne
As any swalwe sittynge on a berne.
Therto she koude skippe and make game,
As any kyde or calf folwynge his dame.
Hir mouth was sweete as bragot or the meeth,
Or hoord of apples leyd in hey or heeth.
Wynsynge she was, as is a joly colt,
....
She was a prymerole, a piggesnye,
For any lord to leggen in his bedde,
Or yet for any good yeman to wedde.
b)
Incident
1
(1) Husband away, Nicolas grabs her by
the queinte and haunches; she resists; he says he'll die of love; she agrees to
do it at an opportune time. He pats her and sings and plays on his instrument
c)
Absolon—contrast
to the directness of Nicolas; emphasize courtliness, squeamishness, vanity, and
also lust
(1) *Clerk to parish priest with big
hair sees her in church; heÕs a dandy—fancy dresser, also a barfly, but
squeamish about farts and bad language
(2) leches Alison; goes to serenade her
and wakes up carpenter; courts her in every way possible—gifts enumerated
d)
Alison
and Nicolas scheme
(1) heÕs close by—cynical proverb
284: the near sly one makes the far beloved hated.Ó *Proximity the
key—lived in her house
(2) he brings in provisions to his
room; sheÕll tell husband heÕs not answering; carpenter worries about him. His
knave spies on Nic, sees him gazing at moon; Carpenter thinks heÕs gone mad
from learning; better to be ignorant. Carpenter breaks down door and lengthily
revives N. with pious and superstitious oaths.
(3) N. drinks with Carpenter and gets
him to swear to keep secret—at length
(4) Predicts rainfall that will drown
the world on Monday night. John worries about his wife.
(5) N. says he will save him like
Noah—they need tubs; wife will be difficult to get to come along, like in
the plays. They must not say
anything that night or have sex.
e)
John takes
bait
(1) *Shares secret with wife who
already knows it. ÒI am thy trewe and verray wedded wif: Go, dere spouse and
help to save our lif.Ó
(2) gets the tubs and hangs them
up—Òsuch a greet thing is affeccioun/Men may dien of imaginaciounÓ
(3) Sends his maid and knave away to
London
f)
Incident
2
(1) They go up ladders to tubs; John
sleeps; Alison and Nicolas go to bed and play til dawn
g)
Incident
3—the kiss
(1) Fin amour—chaste kiss
(3) Absolon finds out John isnÕt around
and is led to believe heÕs out of town buying lumber. Plans to knock on her
window and ask for a kiss.
(4) He carries licorice and mints under
his tongue to be sweet—work up to sweet kiss.
(5) His serenade at her
window—saccharine
(6) She is rude to him and tells him to
go away
(7) He asks for kiss [the emphasis on
the kiss since beginning]
(8) She tells Nicolas, heÕll laugh
(9) Absolon wipes his mouth—out
she put her hole
(10)
He
kisses Òful savourlyÓ – surprised by the beard
(11)
Teehee
quod she
(12)
Nicolas
laughs and comments; Absolon hears
(13)
He
rubs and bites his lips with sand and dust with straw with cloth with chippes
(14)
Absolon
angry and cured of all desire for love—healed of his malady.
h)
AbsolonÕs
revenge
(1) Goes to blacksmith [readerÕs bodily
anticipation, like of the kiss—contrast to KnightÕs Tale; Shakespearean
extremes]
(2) Revenge/quitting plot structure
(3) Encounter with Gervais, who teases
him, but Absolon doesnÕt let on, borrows his hot coulter
(4) Back to window—now heÕs
acting, tricking—asks for another kiss. Nicolas was risen for a piss;
decides heÕll stick out his asse
(5) *Speak sweet bird; Nicolas lets
fart [climactic concentration of events and language] Absolon strikes with hot
coulter
(6) Nicolas calls for water help
i)
The
Flood
(1) Carpenter is awakened; thinks
NoahÕs flood has come and with axe cuts the rope and falls to the floor and
faints
(2) Alison and Nicolas convince others
that John was crazy enough to think the flood imminent and folks laughed at him;
turned his harm into a jape—everybody harmed except for Alison
j)
Relation
to KnightÕs Tale
(1) Two men and one woman, plus an
older man
(2) Emily is miss chastity
(3) Arcite dies; Palamon cherishes his
memory
III. 3:00—3:30 Wife
of Bath Prologue
A.
GP description
1.
Of clooth-makyng she hadde swich an haunt,
She passed hem of ypres and of gaunt.
In al the parisshe wif ne was ther noon
That to the offrynge bifore hire sholde goon;
And if ther dide, certeyn so wrooth was she,
That she was out of alle chariteeÉ
2.
And thries hadde she been at jerusalem;
She hadde passed many a straunge strem;i
At rome she hadde been, and at boloigne,
In galice at seint-jame, and at coloigne.
She koude muchel of wandrynge by the weye.
Gat-tothed was she, soothly for to seye.
C.
Her style
1.
Aggressive, argumentative, non-sequential when she feels
like degressing or backtracking, offering advice to everyone, superconfident,
well informed, successful, experienced, combative; She loses train of
thought 585
2.
Self-praise and characterization
a)
Venus
and Mars—613 [cf. KnightÕs Tale—elements of chivalry]
3.
Naughty language—pleasure and prohibition
a)
Flour
of mine ageÉmembersÉof generationÉthinges smaleÉsely instrumentÉharneisÉmine
instrumentÉpay his debtÉswynkeÉdo his niceteeÉbaconÉbelle choseÉlikerous
taylÉquoniamÉchamber of Venus
4.
Is she a hero or villain?—tormented her older
husbands; probably killed her 4th husband? Exploits both strength
and weakness—between HoffmanÕs
secular and profane
D.
The Prologue
1.
General
a)
ÒThe
marriage groupÓ—CTÕs central theme
b)
Five
husbands who sheÕs picked clean: nether purse and chest *45
c)
Looking
now for a sixth, with divine blessing
d)
Anti-feminist
tradition she attacks; Paul and Jerome
e)
Experience
vs. Authority
(1) Experience vs. auctoritee—cf.
Bacon –Protestant religious experience; individualism
(2) Direct references to
scripture—controversy of reading Bible vs. ChurchÕs interpretation
(3) She intermixes experience and
authority
f)
Wo in
marriage—she is expert—this is theme in MillerÕs Tale and many
others, based largely on age difference.
She was first wed at 12.
g)
Her
argumentativeness; all of their
arguments; scholastic—learned from husbands
(1) raises counter arguments from John;
Christ never married and reprimanded a Samaritan woman for marrying five. She rejects that because no grounds
were given; God bad us for to wexe and multiply
h)
That
gentil text can I wel understonde
(1) Her exuberant appreciation of
SolomonÕs marriages—irony of womanÕs doing this
(2) Paul cant contravene GodÕs
sanctification of marriage
i)
Long
section: virginitee is preferred and perfect, but we cant all be perfect
(1) Her realism, moderation, skeptical
and happy non-idealism, affirmation of imperfection 79-120
j)
Argument
from design of sexual organs [Aristotle]
(1) Funny and compelling
(2) —perfect for the purpose of
pleasure, otherwise would be wasted; not just for excretion distinguishing male
from female
k)
Virginity
is fine, but not for all
(1) Christ and saints are pure white
bread
(2) Wives are barley bread, which
Christ used for loaves and fishes
l)
*IÕm
not daungerousÉmyn housonde shal it han bothe eve and morwe. 157-8
(1) And IÕll insist on his paying his
debt to me—following the Apostle—and keep him enslaved
2.
PardonerÕs interruption
a)
He
appreciates the frankness; was about to wed, but wont now that sheÕs revealed
her secret
b)
She
says yes, but also that sheÕs just joking—indeterminacy of meaning and
intent
3.
WifeÕs account of her hubands
a)
Three
were good and old (Y/A) two were bad and young
b)
ÒYou
know what I meanÓ—repeated use of language to subvert languageÕs literal
meaning—reverse of good and bad
c)
She
made the old ones work in bed
d)
They
loved her; she had no need to love them after getting all their land and
treasure
(1) Anti Christian principle—a
wis woman—only concern for profit and ese
(2) She kept them in line; they were
happy to oblige
(3) She chided them and accused them
falsely
(4) Advises other women to do
that—and to cheat
e)
Fulfills
anti-feminist stereotypes
4.
First three
a)
Samples
of her abuse and deception of husbands
(1) Long series of anti-feminine quotes
she attributes to them 263-385 ÒThou saistÉÓ followed by curses
(2) Shrewish language pouring out;
revealing the male abusive language, but also the appeal of ÒscoldÕs bridleÓ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scold%27s_bridle
(3) Harangue—he should let her do
what she wants
(4) General point: let us do what we
want as long as you get enough sex old man
(5) DonÕt be envious
(6) Back to Paul who says women
shouldnÕt dress nicely or groom hair; she adds many more proverbs about keeping
women chaste
(7) She insists no efforts by men to
limit or control women can work; theyÕre too smart [cf. Rosalind in
AYLI—the motif of the shrewish feminist]
(8) You sayÉon and on: amplitude of the
argument and use of texts
(9) Her accusations of her old husbands
forsaying all this in their drunkenness she has Janekin and her neice testify
to.
(10)
She
was false; controlled them; forestalled their accusations by bringing them up
first and denying them.
(11)
Flattered
them by pretending jealousy; went out at night claiming to find their paramours
(12)
DeceitÉGod
hath yve/To women kindely 408
b)
No
sex to them without a concession; contempt for old manÕs sex [Chaucer wrote
this in age]
c)
Everything
for profit only: Winne whoso may, for al is for to selle 420 [business girl]
For winning wolde I al his lust endureÉ/and yet in bacon hade I nevere delit
d)
They
never got anything out of me; my wit made them back down always
e)
Convinces
them that one must be dominant, let the woman have her way—argues
rationally
f)
Final
appeal: offer of her belle chose if he accedes
5.
Fourth husband—transition
a)
He
had mistress; I was young
b)
Digression
on her youth
(1) She was beautiful and lusty; danced
(2) Wine made her lecherous
(a) In women vinolent is no defence
(b) This knowen lecchours by experience 467-8
(3) Joy in remembering her youth;
sadness in its departure—the flour is goon
(4) But sheÕll be more merry
c)
He
made her jealous, but she made him fry in his own grease; tortured
him—weÕre not told how
d)
Buried
him in a cheap grave
6.
Fifth husband
a)
He
was bad; so good in bed; could deceive her; after he beat her every bone, he
could get her in bed and win her love back 512. [Battered wife syndrome]
b)
He
had my love because he was stand-offish
c)
All
women want what they cant get
d)
Market
analogy: greet prees at maketh deere ware/to greet cheepe is hold at litel prys
522-3 [Market values;
capitalism—cf. Pardoner vs. Parson, Merchant, etc.—sheÕs a
businesswoman] Law of supply and demand
e)
She
took him for love not wealth
f)
He
was [another] Oxford clerk; boarded with her friend Alisoun—with whom she
gossiped, as with other friends and niece—all her [4th?]
husbands secrets
g)
While
husband was away, she gallivanted everywhere, showing her clothes, etc. [why
women should be kept at home] and visited Alison and Clerk Jankyn
h)
She flirted
and promised him her hand if she were a widow, because she always liked to have
another man in the wings
i)
She
told him lies her mother taught her about her dreams—that he had stabbed
her
j)
She
loses train of thought 585
[doesnÕt talk about the way 4th husband died]
k)
She
feigned weeping at husband 4Õs funeral
l)
At
the procession she fell for JanekinÕs legs—she 40 and he 20
m) She was sexy enough to make him
happy—long elaboration
n)
A
month later she married him, gave him all her property and regretted it
o)
He hit
her on the ear and deafened it for stealing a leaf from his book
p)
She
wouldnÕt obey though he quoted anti-feminine texts to her—all those woman
taming Romans
q)
Back
to tearing leaf from book: Book of Wicked Wives; Jerome against Jovinian
r)
He
read or told her stories of bad women
(1) Eve, Delilah, Santippe, Pasiphae,
Clytemnestra
(2) Modern horrors
s)
Told
her saws about bad women
t)
She
ripped three pages out; knocks him in fire; he hits her ear; she falls down as
if dead; ÒEr I be deed,yet wol I kisse theeÓ; he is penitent and promises never
to hit her again; she hits him
u)
They
make agreement: he gives her all maistrie over money, estate, his words; after
that was no debaat; she was kind and true to him.
(1)
812
But atte laste, with muchel care and wo,
We fille acorded by us selven two.
He yaf me al the bridel in myn hond,
To han the governance of hous and lond,
And of his tonge, and of his hond also;
And made hym brenne his book anon right tho.
And whan that I hadde geten unto me,
By maistrie, al the soveraynette,
And that he seyde, -- myn owene trewe wyf,
Do as thee lust the terme of al thy lyf;
Keep thyn honour, and keep eek myn estaat --
After that day we hadden never debaat.
7.
Somonour and FriarÕs words
a)
Friar
says itÕs a long prologue
b)
Somonour
curses all Friars as intruders
c)
Friar
says heÕll tell bad tales of Friars and vice versa
d)
Host
asks them to keep peace
e)
They
donÕt give her a lot of the personal attention she craves
IV. 3:30-3:45 Wife
of BathÕs Tale
A.
General
1.
Old womanÕs fantasy of getting young lover and keeping him;
maintaining the maistrie that will allow her to be gentil and therefore loved
by him
2.
Homily on maistrie and gentillesse that reverses the male
dominance either of rape or of the anti-feminist tradition and establishes
female dominance by tongue and persuasion
3.
How does this match with the hardboiled market philosophy
of the Prologue?
B.
Shmoop
1.
ÒSometimes the point of the loathly lady story is to
emphasize the importance of inner, rather than outer, beauty. "The Wife of
Bath's Tale" nods to this in the loathly lady's long speech about the
origin of gentility being within oneself rather than a result of one's lineage.
But the main point of the Wife's Tale, in keeping with one of the concerns of
her Prologue,
is that women desire and should be granted sovereignty over their own bodies
and minds.
2.
In fact, the loathly lady is probably meant as an alter-ego
of the Wife of Bath. Like the Wife's relationship with her young
husband Jankyn, the loath lady is an older woman who supposedly becomes
delightful once her husband has yielded power to her. If the conclusion of the
Wife's confrontation with Jankyn seemed somewhat fantastical, the ending of
this marriage is even more so, for the loathly lady becomes beautiful and
young, and obedient to her husband in all things. Perhaps with this
ending the Wife is granting a husband what her character prevents her from
yielding in 'real' life. And indeed, almost immediately, we get the Wife's
re-assertion of that character in her curse upon all husbands who refuse to
yield to their wives. Only in fairy tales, it seems, can the Wife give up
sovereignty!Ó
C.
Reading notes
1.
Prologue
a)
King
Arthurs time, when Fairies walked as they do no more, since limitours have
scoured the land and eliminated incubuses, and protecting women except from
dishonor
2.
Incident 1
a)
Young
knight rapes woman and takes virginity [force against woman]
b)
Public
outcry causes Arthur to condemn him to death
c)
Queen
and her ladies pray for his life so long that Arthur lets them decide [first
cession of maistrie to woman]
3.
Incident 2
a)
Queen
gives him a year to come up with answer to riddle of what women most desire
b)
He
leaves sadly; finds many answers, all approaching truth: wealth, attention,
marriage and widowhood, etc. but
no agreement
c)
NarratorÕs
comment—all women want to be free and unreproved, even if they are bad
(1) Digression: Some say women want to
be held able to keep secrets, which is untrue, as shown by the tale of Midas
(a) He had secret asses ears known only
to wife
(b) She cant keep the secret and speaks
it to the marsh
(c) The rest of the story found in Ovid
d)
Back
to knight: on his way back to court, he sees 24 maidens dancing; they
disappear; an old woman remains and says old people know much
e)
He
asks her and she gets pledge to do what she says [another maistrie] if she
tells him. She whispers in his ear
f)
They
come back to the court and women of all degree are there.
g)
Ceremonial
narrative of his answer
h)
They
all agree; he is spared
4.
Incident 2
a)
the
old woman demands in their presence he marry her.
b)
He
demurs; she insists [battle of wills]
c)
He is
forced to do it after insulting her
d)
ThereÕs
no feast, only shame; he marries her in private and feels shame and disgust
5.
Incident 3—the homily on gentilesse—opposite of
WifeÕs Prologue
a)
Vivid
bed scene—she reproaches him—challenges his knightly manners
b)
He
insults her loathliness and low birth and poverty
c)
She
preaches that he should reconsider his definition of gentility—itÕs not
birth or descent or riches
(1) Follow Christ who said its not
birth but virtuous living that makes you gentle and bade us follow this precept
(2) And Dante—donÕt be proud of
birth or lineage—thatÕs not where gentility resides
(3) Like fire whose natural heat
doesnÕt require many to recognize it but it burns in secret
(4) birth means nothing, only deeds
(5) Gentillesse comes from grace not
ÒplaceÓ
(6) Praise of poverty; Jesus chose
it—also Seneca and Boece
(7) Whoever thinks they have enough
isnÕt poor
(8) Poverty is a hateful
good—more quotations
(9) Poverty brings men closer to God,
shows their true friends.
(10)
Now
to old age: 1207
(11)
Many
authors praise it—I can find them even though authors have no authority
(12)
If
IÕm old and ugly, you can be sure IÕll be chaste
d)
She
offers him choice after the long harangue and he defers to her
(1) Choose me old and loyal or young
and beautiful, taking your chances
(2) [Choice again] He wont choose; tells her to choose;
gives up choice to her; power and maistrie to her—[an application of what
she told him about what women want]
(3) She says she has gotten
maistrie—he agrees
e)
Outcome
(1) She says kiss me and IÕll be both
beautiful and virtuous and true
(2) And they live happily ever after
6.
Moral/conclusion—Back to fierce wife—Good cop
bad cop—the balance of force and deference—the loathly lady uses
both; so does the wife with last husband
a)
and
Jhesu Crist us sende
1259
Housbondes meeke, yonge, and fressh abedde,
1260 And grace t' overbyde hem that we wedde;
1261
And eek I praye Jhesu shorte hir lyves
1262 That noght wol be governed by hir wyves;
1263 And olde and angry nygardes of dispence,
1264 God sende hem soone verray pestilence!