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ETD Abstract Container

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The Mechanics of Courtly and the Mechanization of Woman in Medieval Anglo-Norman Romance

Robertson, Abigail G
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1415804460

Abstract Details

2014, Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, English/Literature.
This thesis investigates one of the tales within Geoffrey Chaucer’s greater works, The Canterbury Tales with a focus on the connection between the prologue of the taleteller and the story that he shares with the other pilgrims. Masochism and antifeminism are two of the most prominent features of Chaucer’s Merchant, an impoverished man parading as successful, husband to a woman whom he detests. With a business deep in debt and a wife he refers to only as a shrew, the Merchant attempts to bolster his credibility within the group of pilgrims by weaving a narrative about marriage, lust, and cuckoldry. This thesis explores the dynamics of the Merchant and his tale from a variety of perspectives in order to more deeply understand the motivation behind the tale that is told and the person who tells it. The Merchant’s failing marriage spurns the chauvinism that is deeply imbedded in his tale as he preaches the importance of obedience and vilifies women who resist or disobey their husbands. While the Merchant offers the qualities of a successful marriage as inherent fact, it is clear that he has instead shaped his opinion as a result of his own unsuccessful marriage, blaming female disobedience rather than his own deficiencies as a husband. Additionally, this thesis delves into the story that the Merchant tells of two lovers called January and May and the way in which the female body operates as capital within the narrative. Employing a Marxist understanding of commodity on top of Wills’ ideas on prosthetics, this thesis underscores the way in which May is used constantly as a resource for her husband. Further, this thesis explores the function that May plays in her marriage to her husband and how her body is used as an extension of January and other male influence and her own agency is stripped from her.
Labbie Erin, Ph.D (Advisor)
Fitzgerald Christina, Ph.D (Other)
35 p.
Literature; Medieval Literature
chaucer; the merchant; the merchants tale; merchant; january; may; courtly love; feminism; medieval; marxism; middle ages; middle english; romance; prosthesis; mechanization; body; female body; antifeminism;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Robertson, A. G. (2014). The Mechanics of Courtly and the Mechanization of Woman in Medieval Anglo-Norman Romance [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1415804460

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Robertson, Abigail. The Mechanics of Courtly and the Mechanization of Woman in Medieval Anglo-Norman Romance. 2014. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1415804460.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Robertson, Abigail. "The Mechanics of Courtly and the Mechanization of Woman in Medieval Anglo-Norman Romance." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1415804460

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1415804460
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This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.