Index

A

Absolon (in the Miller's Tale ), 17 , 211 ;

courtship of Alisoun, 223 , 226 -30;

cure of, 263 ;

effeminacy of, 229 -31, 238 ;

lovesickness of, 228 ;

revenge of, 231 -32, 262

Achitofel, 63

Actium, Battle of, 1 , 4

Adam, 247 , 248

Aeetes, 8

Aeneas, 6 , 102 , 268 ;

desertion of Dido, 89 ;

motivation of, 90 , 96 ;

narrative of, 95 ;

in the Parliament of Fowls , 114 -15;

relations with Dido, 93

Aeneid (Virgil), 88

Aers, David, 113 , 114 n, 121 n, 131 n, 137 n, 139 , 141 -43

Aeson, 8

A-fragment, 209 , 240 , 243 , 264 , 282

Agamemnon, 153

Alan of Lille, 21

Alceste (in the Legend of Good Women ), 2 , 3 , 17

Alcoff, Linda, 50 n

Alcyone (in the Book of the Duchess ), 66 -71, 97 , 109 , 138 ;

compared to the Black Knight, 63 -64;

death of, 69 ;

as ideal woman, 73 -74;

sources for, 64 -65

Aleyn (in the Reeve's Tale ), 240 -41

Alisoun (in the Miller's Tale ), 209 , 264 ;

compared with Emily, 216 , 220 ;

escape from punishment, 224 n, 225 -26, 235 , 273 , 277 ;

prank of, 226 -28, 230 ;

sexuality of, 223 -24

Althaea, 161 , 162

Amazons, 139 , 216 -19

Ancaeus, 152 , 161

Anchises, 8

Anne of Bohemia, 9 n, 156

Antenor, 63 , 153

Antifeminism, 2 , 9 , 204 ;

and Chaucerian fictions, 52 , 56 ;

in Chaucerian studies, 42 ;

of clerks, 197 ;

in the Clerk's Tale , 190 ;

in the Merchant's Tale , 249 , 251 , 255 ;

in Troilus and Criseyde , 179 ;

in the Wife of Bath's Prologue , 30

Antigone, 159 , 169

Antony, Marc, 1 , 3 ;

feminization of, 4 -5, 272

Arcite, 17 ;

death of, 223 ;

disguise of, 211 -12;

exile to Thebes, 211 ;

funeral of, 213 , 214 ;

imprisonment of, 209 , 219 ;

reconciliation with Palamon, 215 , 236 ;

rivalry with Palamon, 211 -12

Argus, 262

Ariadne, 6 , 220

Aristocracy, medieval: courtly behavior of, 20 , 62 -63, 148 ;

influence of women on, 19 -20, 72 ;

marriage in, 76 -77

Armstrong, Nancy, 18 , 19 , 289 , 291 n

The Art of Courtly Loving (Capellanus), 180 -81

Arveragus (in the Franklin's Tale ), 269 , 271 ;

feminization of, 281 n, 283 ;

marriage of, 272 , 274 ;

threat to Dorigen, 280 -81

Atalanta, 127 , 152 , 161 , 162 , 171

Augustine, Saint, 5 n

Aurelius (in the Franklin's Tale ), 17 , 273 -75, 280 ;

as courtly lover, 276

Austen, Jane, 285

Authority, male, 114 , 189 , 262 ;

in the Knight's Tale , 217

B

Barthes, Roland, 286

Baudrillard, Jean, 187

Beauvoir, Simone de, 27 , 54

Bennett, J. A. W., 122 , 137 n

Bethurum, Dorothy, 133 n, 134 n

Birney, Earle, 227

Black Knight (in the Book of the Duchess ), 17 , 108 ;

compared to

Alcyone, 63 -64;

compared to Criseyde, 81 ;

feminization of, 60 -68, 80 , 83 ;

grief of, 80 ;

love for White, 70 -71;

marriage of, 272 ;

recovery of, 71 -75;

relationship to narrator, 80 -85, 97

Blanche (duchess of Lancaster), 56 , 109 ;

death of, 58 -60, 73 ;

socioeconomic power of, 72

Bloch, Marc, 19

Bloch, R. Howard, 21 -22

Boccaccio, Giovanni, 179 , 217 n, 219 ;

description of Criseyde, 156 ;

description of Troilus, 169 ;

version of Griselda, 197

Boece , 145 n

Book of the Duchess , 58 -86, 92 , 108 , 133 ;

chess game in, 80 ;

conclusion of, 137 ;

death in, 67 , 69 -72, 78 ;

as elegy for the duchess of Lancaster, 58 -60;

gender differences in, 61 , 248 ;

healing process in, 74 ;

marriage in, 77 ;

sources of, 64 -66

Brewer, Derek S., 110 , 227

Bronfen, Elisabeth, 60

Bynum, Caroline Walker, 18 , 19

C

Calchas, 155 , 167

Callisto, 127

Calydonian boar, 152 , 161

Canterbury Tales , 11 ;

audience of, 196 , 198 ;

humanism of, 288 ;

male readership of, 47 , 51 ;

women in, 52 , 239 , 244

Capellanus, Andreas, 180 -81

Carthage, 87 , 123 ;

in the Parliament of Fowls , 114 -15

Carton, Evan, 46 , 47

Cassandra, 63 , 152 , 161 , 164

Castration, 229 , 231 , 235 -36;

Freudian view of, 239 ;

in the Miller's Tale , 245

Cave of Sleep, in the Book of the Duchess , 69

Ceyx: in the Book of the Duchess , 67 , 69 ;

in the Metamorphoses , 65 , 70

Chaucer, Geoffrey: adulation of, 41 , 42 , 53 -55, 287 ;

ambiguity of, 110 ;

antifeminism in, 2 , 188 , 190 n;

audience of, 53 n, 209 , 217 ;

as author, 286 -87;

authority of, 114 n;

biography of, 23 ;

as court official, 22 ;

as court poet, 37 -38, 177 ;

depiction of feminization, 15 -25;

as Father of English poetry, 284 ;

as feminist, 10 -15, 43 , 48 , 158 n;

feminist studies of, 11 -12, 42 , 290 -92;

humanism of, 12 , 48 , 53 , 54 , 207 , 286 , 288 ;

humor of, 202 -3;

negative capability of, 207 ;

patronage of, 49 n;

as pilgrim, 55 ;

portrayal of Dido, 89 ;

postmodern views of, 55 ;

reception of, 23 -25;

representation of women by, 1 , 11 , 16 , 36 , 45 , 48 , 53 , 56 , 86 , 100 , 201 n, 207 , 285 ;

sexual politics of, 43 , 44 ;

as social critic, 42 ;

study and teaching of, 285 ;

transcendence of, 54 -55, 139 , 206 -7, 286 ;

transmission of texts, 177 ;

treatment of gender differences, 14 -15

Cherniss, Michael, 76

Chrétien de Troyes, 22 , 121 n, 208

Christine de Pisan, 25 -26, 288

Cicero, Marcus Tullius, 114 n

Class differences: and Chaucerian fictions, 20 ;

and feminization, 19 -20;

in the Franklin's Tale , 269 , 275 ;

mutability of, 212

Class hierarchy: in the Parliament of Fowls , 123 , 128 ;

women in, 238 -39

Clemen, Wolfgang, 53 n, 88 , 92 , 110 n

Cleopatra, 1 , 4 , 8 , 198 , 272 , 288

Clerk of Oxenford, 17 , 29 , 202 ;

association with Chaucer, 206 ;

compared to narrator of the Legend of Good Women , 197 -98, 203 , 204 ;

on gender differences, 199 -200;

professional status of, 196 ;

similarity to Griselda, 203 ;

sources of, 190 ;

sympathy with Walter, 191 ;

sympathy with women, 204 , 205

Clerk's Tale , 31 , 188 -207, 226 ;

as allegory, 194 ;

audience of, 200 -202, 206 ;

authority in, 207 ;

compared to the Legend of Good Women , 195 -96, 206 ;

compared to the Merchant's Tale , 205 ;

conclusions of, 201 ;

gender conflict in, 188 ;

moral of, 201 ;

silence in, 189 , 205 ;

use of power in, 190

Colatyne (husband of Lucrece), 6

Consolation (literary genre), 59 , 68 ;

in the Book of the Duchess , 74 , 78 , 82

Constance (in the Man of Law's Tale ), 28 , 29 , 196 , 261

Cook (narrator), 242 -43

Cook's Tale , 240 , 242 -44

Coulter (of plough), 231 -32

Courtly love, 3 , 133 n, 140 , 180 -81;

in the Canterbury Tales , 208 ;

debilitating power of, 149 ;

empowerment of for women, 276 ;

and gender differences, 20 , 151 , 275 ;

and heterosexual relations, 148 ;

ideology of, 120 , 125 , 127 , 271 ;

and marriage, 77 ;

and

masculinity, 14 ;

and month of May, 221 -22;

mutuality in, 125 ;

in the Parliament of Fowls , 110 , 126 ;

role of poet in, 64 ;

role reversal in, 62 -63, 150 ;

rules of, 2 , 7 , 165 , 276 -77;

and war, 152

Courtly lovers, 17 ;

in the Book of the Duchess , 76 ;

feminization of, 281 ;

in the Knight's Tale , 208 ;

parodies of, 255 -56;

rivalry of, 237

Court poet, 14 , 37 -38, 72 ;

authority of, 84 ;

empowerment of, 177 ;

feminization of, 68 .

See also Narrators; Poet, male

Crane, Susan, 268 -69

Creation myth, 246 -47;

Chaucer's treatment of, 247 -49

Creon (in the Knight's Tale), 219

Criseyde, 10 n, 18 , 46 -47;

ambiguity of, 156 , 162 -3, 171 , 174 , 183 ;

as antifeminist example, 141 ;

as archetype of woman, 155 ;

in bedroom scene, 150 ;

betrayal of Troilus, 182 ;

compared to Black Knight, 81 ;

domination of by Troilus, 151 ;

dream of the eagle, 150 ;

gift to Diomede, 172 , 180 ;

hold over Troilus, 160 ;

innocence of, 167 , 169 -70, 183 ;

and narrator of the Parliament of Fowls , 134 n;

observation by Troilus, 145 -47;

as reader/misreader, 143 , 164 , 167 -68, 170 -73, 186 ;

realistic portrayal of, 157 ;

and song of nightingale, 160 ;

submissiveness of, 142 ;

sympathy for, 183 ;

victimization of, 143 , 158 , 159 , 168 -69, 173 -74, 184

Cuckoldry, 147 n

Cupid, 5 , 196 ;

in Troilus and Criseyde , 144 -45, 148

Curses, 100 ;

in the Wife of Bath's Tale , 33 -34, 38 -39

D

Damyan (in the Merchant's Tale ), 255 -56, 260 , 264

Dante, 277 n

David, Alfred, 183 n

Davis, Natalie, 221

Death, in the Book of the Duchess , 67 , 69 -72, 78

Deiphebus, 160 , 169 ;

as reader, 171

De la séduction (Baudrillard), 187

Demophon, 8

De planctu naturae (Alan of Lille), 21

Desire and Domestic Fiction (Armstrong), 18

Deucalion, 128 n

Diamond, Arlyn, 42 -43

Dido, 6 , 18 , 138 , 141 ;

attitude toward Fame, 104 -5;

classical representations of, 88 -89, 91 ;

compared to White, 92 -98;

as embodiment of lust, 93 ;

as everywoman, 94 -95, 97 , 101 , 103 ;

and Geffrey, 98 -107;

in the House of Fame , 53 n, 88 , 93 ;

in the Legend of Good Women , 87 , 92 , 149 n;

as literary character, 97 ;

loss of name, 106 ;

mistrust of words, 101 ;

in the Parliament of Fowls , 114 -15;

powerlessness of, 98 , 105 -6;

sexuality of, 95 ;

suicide of, 63 , 97 ;

victimization of, 94

Diomede (in Troilus and Criseyde ), 161 , 164 , 172 -73

Donaldson, E. Talbot, 45 , 47 , 182 , 216 , 221 , 229 n, 248 , 263

Dorigen (in the Franklin's Tale ), 268 n, 269 ;

devotion to Arveragus, 272 -73;

lament of, 279 ;

as misreader, 276 ;

pledge to Aurelius, 274 ;

power of, 270 -77;

punishment of, 273 , 277 -83;

retraction of joke by, 275 -76

Douglas, Ann, 18 , 19

Douglas, Gavin, 11

Dreamers. See Narrators

Dreams, causes of, 99

Dream-visions, 10 , 11 , 112 , 114 n, 129 , 137 , 206 ;

in the House of Fame , 90 ;

male readers of, 51

Duby, Georges, 20 -21, 76 -77

E

Eagle. See Formel eagle; Golden eagle

Echo, 63

Egeus (in the Knight's Tale ), 214

Egiste, 8

Emasculation, 16 -17

Emily (in the Knight's Tale ), 139 , 209 , 210 , 212 ;

as Amazon, 218 , 220 ;

association with Hippolyta, 217 ;

chastity of, 222 -23;

as idealized woman, 215 ;

marriage to Palamon, 214 -15, 223

Epistolae Seniles (Petrarch), 199 n

Eve, 247 , 248

F

Falcon (in the Parliament of Fowls ), 130

Fame, 101 , 106 ;

characteristics of, 104

Farnham, Willard, 111 -12

Felman, Shoshana, 36 n

Femenye (Amazonian realm), 217 -19, 220 , 223 , 237

Femininity: medieval ideals of, 2 ;

repression of, 15 n;

traits associated with, 7 ;

in Western culture, 195

Feminist era (in literary criticism), 41 , 43 , 48

Feminization, 240 ;

of aristocratic males, 149 ;

attributes of, 72 ;

in the Book of the Duchess , 60 -68, 76 ;

Chaucer's depiction of, 15 -25;

consequences of, 283 ;

definition of, 16 ;

and gender identity, 12 ;

in the Legend of Good Women , 4 -7, 9 ;

and literary criticism, 289 -92;

in the Merchant's Tale , 249 , 254 , 265 ;

in the Miller's Tale , 236 ;

in Troilus and Criseyde , 171

Feminization of American Culture (Douglas), 18

II Filostrato , 145 , 147 , 153 , 169 , 179

Finch, Anne, 285

Fisher, John, 217

La Fonteinne Amoreuse (Machaut), 64 , 65 , 66

Formel eagle (in the Parliament of Fowls ), 109 -11, 116 , 134 , 138 , 141 , 171 ;

compared to narrator, 139 ;

desirability of, 115 ;

indecisiveness of, 110 n, 123 -27, 131 -32;

right to choose, 118 ;

suitors of, 120 -24, 128

Fradenburg, Louise, 114 n, 290

Frank, R. W., 110 n, 122

Franklin (narrator), 207 , 267 , 272 , 280 ;

admonition to Dorigen, 282 ;

motivation of, 283 ;

social rank of, 268 -69

Franklin's Tale , 21 , 215 , 267 -284;

male domination in, 272

Freud, Sigmund, 127 , 230 , 287 , 288 ;

view of castration, 239 ;

view of humor, 203 -5

Friar's Tale , 197

Friendship, male, 81 , 209 , 211 , 239 , 282 ;

in the Franklin's Tale , 269 ;

in Troilus and Criseyde , 154 .

See also Homosocial relationships

Fries, Maureen, 42

Fyler, John, 88 n, 89 , 110 n

G

Galen, 13

Ganelon, 63

Garden of love (in the Parliament of Fowls ), 115 -16, 123 , 124 , 129 , 133

Geertz, Clifford, 291 n

Geffrey (narrator of the House of Fame ), 17 , 88 -89, 91 ;

attitude toward authority, 104 ;

attitude toward Fame, 105 ;

autonomy of, 106 ;

curse of, 100 ;

and Dido, 98 -107;

on dreams, 99 ;

feminization of, 93 , 101 -4;

mistrust of words, 101

Gellrich, Jesse, 82 -83, 90 , 96 , 106 , 114 n, 138

Gender: biological aspects of, 13 ;

hierarchy of, 234 ;

mutability of, 60 , 106 , 212

Gender differences, 11 ;

in the Book of the Duchess , 61 , 66 , 68 ;

Chaucer's treatment of, 14 -15, 133 ;

and courtly love, 20 ;

in the Franklin's Tale , 268 -69, 275 ;

in the House of Fame , 98 ;

ideology of, 287 ;

instability of, 13 , 115 , 151 -52, 174 , 186 , 228 -29, 238 , 239 , 266 , 288 ;

and marital conflict, 199 ;

in the Merchant's Tale , 248 -49, 255 , 263 , 265 -66;

myths of, 55 ;

in the Parliament of Fowls , 118 , 128 ;

and reading, 163 -64;

in the Squire's Tale , 268 ;

stabilization of, 71 , 74 , 82 , 84 , 104 ;

in Troilus and Criseyde , 151

Gender identity, 51 -52;

in the Book of the Duchess , 82 ;

confusion over, 231 -32;

and feminization, 7 , 12 ;

in the Knight's Tale , 211

Genitals, female, 226 -28, 234

Gervase (in the Miller's Tale ), 231

Gilbert, Sandra, 28 , 285

Girard, René, 128 n

Golden Age, 129

Golden eagle (in the House of Fame ), 101 , 102 , 103

Goose (in the Parliament of Fowls ), 127 n

Greek drama, 19 n

Green, Richard F., 22 , 151 n, 165 , 181 n

Griselda, 28 , 29 , 30 , 278 , 280 ;

as allegory of the soul, 205 ;

as Christian ideal, 189 ;

compared to Job, 199 ;

empowerment of, 190 , 191 , 203 ;

marriage of, 190 ;

murder of children of, 194 ;

powerlessness of, 189 -90, 193 -94, 198 , 200 ;

subversiveness of, 195 ;

suffering of, 192 , 205 ;

virtues of, 191 -92

Gubar, Susan, 28 , 285

Gwenevere, Queen, 62

H

Haraway, Donna, 284

Haskell, Ann, 125

Heath, Stephen, 287

Hector (in Troilus and Criseyde ), 155 , 171

Helen of Troy, 153 , 160 , 171 ;

medieval mythography of, 161 n

Heroes: feminization of, 6 -7;

in the Legend of Good Women , 5 , 6 -7

Heroides (Ovid), 88

Herophilus (anatomist), 13

Heterosexuality: in the Book of the Duchess , 72 ;

courtly models of, 125 , 148 ;

in dream visions, 116 ;

and female desire, 139 ;

in the Legend of Good Women , 3 , 4 , 7 ;

and literary conventions, 9 ;

in literary interpretation of women, 44 -45;

in the Parliament of Fowls , 124 , 127 -28, 138 ;

and problem of gender, 104

Heterosexual union: in the Book of the Duchess , 68 ;

in the House of Fame , 98 ;

in the Knight's Tale , 212 ;

in the Merchant's Tale , 257 , 262 ;

in the Parliament of Fowls , 109 , 117 -18, 133 ;

power in, 174 ;

and romances, 62 ;

in Troilus and Criseyde , 148 , 176 ;

woman's indifference to, 221

Hippolyta (in the Knight's Tale ), 217 ;

intercession for Palamon and Arcite, 220 ;

marriage to Theseus, 218 , 219

Hoccleve, Thomas, 25 , 284

Homosexuality, 62 , 154 , 229 , 231 , 232 n, 240 ;

and chivalry, 215

Homosocial relationships, 102 ;

and chivalry, 215 , in the Franklin's Tale , 278 -79, 282 ;

in medieval culture, 81 -82, 121 , 166 , 215 ;

in the Merchant's Tale , 252 ;

and war, 152 .

See also Friendship, male

Host (in the Canterbury Tales ), 196 , 203 , 204 , 205 , 230

House of Fame , 87 -107, 133 , 177 ;

authority in, 90 , 103 ;

dream-vision in, 88 ;

incompletion of, 137

Howard, Donald, 178 , 216

Humor: Chaucer's use of, 202 -3;

liberating quality of, 226

Hypermnestra, 6 , 8

Hypsipyle, 1 , 8

I

Icarus, 102 , 103

J

Jacobus, Mary, 50

Janekyn (in the Wife of Bath's Prologue ), 32 , 198

January (in the Merchant's Tale ), 250 -58;

choice of wife, 250 -52;

cure of, 263 -64;

discovery of May's infidelity, 264 ;

fantasy of May, 259

Jason, 6 , 8 , 268

Jerome, Saint, 127 ;

in the Wife of Bath's Prologue , 30

Joan of Kent, 9 n

John (in the Miller's Tale ), 228 , 234 -35;

jealousy of, 229

John (in the Reeve's Tale ), 240 -41

John of Gaunt, 73 , 81

Jonson, Ben, 289 n

Juno: in the Book of the Duchess , 66 , 69 -70;

in the Metamorphoses, 65

Justinus (in the Merchant's Tale ), 253

K

Kamuf, Peggy, 23 -24

Kaplan, Corey, 285

Kittredge, George Lyman, 41 n, 53

Knight, Black. See Black Knight (in the Book of the Duchess )

Knight, Stephen, 279

Knight (narrator), 207 , 231 ;

attitude toward women, 209 , 236 ;

ideals of, 215 ;

treatment of Emily, 220

Knight's Tale , 152 , 209 -23, 254 ;

brotherhood in, 209 ;

compared with the Miller's Tale , 208 , 236 -40;

tournament in, 214 , 220 , 241 ;

violence in, 232

Koch, John, 206 n

Kofman, Sarah, 128 n

Kolve, E. A., 225 n, 227 , 232

Kristeva, Julia, 50

Krueger, Roberta L., 273 n

L

Labarge, Margaret Wade, 120 n

Lacan, Jacques, 75

Lambert, Mark, 156 , 178

Lancaster, duchess of. See Blanche (duchess of Lancaster)

Language, instability of, 155 , 173 , 177

Lanham, Richard, 188 n

Lanval (Marie de France), 62

Laqueur, Thomas, 13

Launfal, Sir, 61 -62

Laustic (Marie de France), 158 n

Lawton, David, 110 , 111 n, 138 , 268 n

Lee, Anne Thompson, 280

Legend of Cleopatra , 1

Legend of Good Women , 53 n, 175 , 176 , 200 , 220 ;

antifeminism in, 2 ;

audience of, 196 ;

compared with the Clerk's Tale , 195 -96, 206 ;

Dido in, 87 ;

"false" men in, 1 -10;

feminization in, 10 , 288 ;

patriarchy in, 7 -8;

patron of, 9 n;

victimization of women in, 261

Leicester, H. Marshall, 35 , 36 , 37 , 48 -51, 55 , 129 n, 137 n

Lenvoy de Chaucer , 196 , 202 , 205 ;

voice of, 206

Lincoln, bishop of, 58 -59

Literary criticism, 288 -90;

feminization of, 289 -92

Lovesickness, 149 , 256 n

Lucrece, 1 , 5 n, 6 -7, 8

Lyno, 8

M

MacKinnon, Catharine, 170 , 195

McDonald, Charles O., 110 n

Machaut, Guillaume de, 64 , 65 , 66 , 69 , 81 n, 83

Macrobius, 113 , 114 n

The Madwoman in the Attic (Gilbert and Gubar), 285

Magician (in the Franklin's Tale ), 277 -78, 281 -82

Malory, Thomas, 208

Malyne (in the Reeve's Tale ), 242

Mandel, Jerome, 208 -9

Man of Law, 28 , 44

Man of Law's Tale: compared to the Clerk's Tale , 195 -96;

marriage in, 271

Marcus, Leah, 54

Marguerite, cult of, 9 , 204

Marie de France, 62 , 158 n

"Markedness" (linguistics), 51

Mark of Adam, 52

Marriage: among medieval aristocracy, 76 -77;

courtly models of, 112 ;

female consent to, 117 -20, 123 ;

feudal models of, 120 , 123 ;

freedom in, 272 ;

in medieval society, 21 , 271 ;

in the Parliament of Fowls , 116 -18, 128 ;

socioeconomic aspects of, 258 ;

sovereignty in, 202

Martin, Biddy, 286 n

Masculinity: anxiety over, 153 ;

aristocratic ideal of, 214 ;

and authority, 207 ;

in the Book of the Duchess , 68 ;

and courtly love, 14 ;

dual nature of, 214 ;

in the Legend of Good Women , 3 , 4 ;

in the Miller's Tale , 226 ;

in romances, 62 ;

vulnerability of, 228 ;

in Western culture, 103 , 195

Massynisse (in the Parliament of Fowls ), 114

Matriarchy, 115

May, month of: and courtly love, 221 -22

May (in the Merchant's Tale ), 149 n, 246 , 270 , 278 ;

adultery of, 256 ;as

fantasy of January, 250 -51, 259 ;

infidelity of, 260 , 264 ;

rhetoric describing, 255 ;

selfhood of, 258 -60;

sexuality of, 258 -66;

sympathy for, 261 ;

wedding of, 253 -55, 258 , 259 , 262

Medea, 1 , 6 , 8 , 63

Medusa, 277 n

Meleager, 161

Melibeus, 17

Men, aristocratic, 19 , 208 , 239 ;

courtly behavior of, 148 ;

feminization of, 149 ;

as husbands, 274 ;

in the Knight's Tale , 211 ;

rivalry among, 211 -12

Men, "false," 1 -10, 15 , 268

Menen (Middle English verb), 79

Merchant (narrator), 205 , 207 , 253 , 260 , 261 , 262 , 269 ;

authority of, 254 ;

misogyny of, 259 , 263 , 266 , 268

Merchant's Tale , 28 , 245 -266, 260 ;

audience of, 253 , 259 ;

brutality of, 249 ;

catalogue of women in, 253 -55;

compared to the Clerk's Tale , 205 ;

darkness of, 245 , 267 ;

garden in, 256 -57;

misogyny in, 232 , 266 ;

obscenity in, 246 ;

rhetorical strategies in, 255 , 258 ;

violence in, 262 ;

voyeurism in, 263

Mercury (in the Knight's Tale ), 211

Metamorphoses (Ovid), 64 , 65 , 161

Mieszkowski, Gretchen, 157

Miller, Jacqueline, 90 -91, 92 , 105 -6

Miller (narrator), 207 , 230 , 231 , 263 ;

attitude toward women, 209 , 224 , 236

Miller's Tale , 215 , 223 -36, 254 ;

compared with the Knight's Tale , 208 , 236 -40;

innocence of, 225 ;

violence in, 232 , 237

Misogyny, 10 , 207 , 286 ;

function of, 238 ;

in literary tradition, 186 , 188 ;

medieval, 19 n;

in the Merchant's Tale , 253 , 258 , 266 ;

in the Miller's Tale , 232 ;

in Troilus and Criseyde , 174 , 177 , 179 ;

and the Wife of Bath, 42

Misreading, 143 , 164 , 167 -68, 170 -73, 276.

See also Reading

Modern Language Association, 285

Mohanty, Chandra Talpade, 286 n

Moi, Toril, 19 , 20

Morpheus (in the Book of the Duchess ), 67 , 69 -70

Mulier fortis (strong woman), 253 -54, 264

Murasaki, Lady, 27 n

Muscatine, Charles, 156 , 202 , 216

Mutuality: in the Book of the Duchess , 75 , 77 ;

in courtly love, 125 ;

in Troilus and Criseyde , 141 -42, 148

N

Narrator (of the Book of the Duchess ), 99 ;

feminization of, 60 -68, 80 ;

misunderstandings of, 78 -80;

as reader, 83 -84;

relationship to Black Knight, 85 , 97

Narrator (of the Canterbury Tales ), 290

Narrator (of the House of Fame ). See Geffrey

Narrator (of the Legend of Good Women ), 1 -4, 8 -10, 14 -15, 196 , 200 ;

compared to the Clerk of Oxenford, 197 -98, 203 , 204 ;

feminization of, 17

Narrator (of the Parliament of Fowls ), 87 , 108 -10, 112 , 115 -17, 126 , 130 , 132 -33;

characterization of, 129 ;

compared to formel eagle, 139 ;

conclusions of, 138 ;

experience of love, 134 -35;

feminization of, 113 ;

as reader, 135 -37

Narrator (of Troilus and Criseyde ), 161 , 167 , 175 -80;

detachment of, 182 ;

feminization of, 178 ;

gender of, 176 , 182 ;

identification with Criseyde, 142 , 157 , 168 , 178 , 185 -86;

on ideology of love, 144 ;

as reader, 186 ;

sympathy for Criseyde, 183 ;

as voice of Chaucer, 185

Narrators, 2 , 195 , 290 ;

gender identity of, 12 .

See also Poet, male

Nature (in the Parliament of Fowls ), 108 , 115 , 116 , 118 -19, 127 -28;

advice to formel, 122 -23;

court of, 130 -31;

organization of Parliament by, 120 n

Nemesius (bishop of Emesa), 13

Newman, Barbara, 178

Nicholas (in the Miller's Tale ), 232 -35, 264 , 277 ;

competition with Absolon, 228 -29;

feminization of, 234 , 238 ;

punishment of, 235

Nightingale, symbolism of, 159 -60

Noblewomen, 22 , 238 -39;

and courtly love, 165 , 271 ;

influence on males, 19 ;

marriage of, 112 , 125 ;

socioeconomic power of, 72

Novelli, Cornelius, 231

O

Occupatio (narrative rupture), 97 ;

in the Knight's Tale , 216 ;

in the Merchant's Tale , 258 , 259 ;

in the Miller's Tale , 231

Ovid, 64 , 65 , 69 , 83 , 158 ;

portrayal of Dido, 88 , 89

P

Painting of lion (Wife of Bath's Tale ), 34 , 35

Palamon, 17 ;

imprisonment of, 209 , 219 ;

marriage to Emily, 214 ;

reconciliation with Arcite, 215 , 236 ;

rivalry with Arcite, 211 -12

Palmer, John, 58 , 73

Pandarus, 10 n, 46 , 149 , 157 , 172 ;

in bedroom scene, 150 ;

death threats by, 158 n;

dream of the swallow, 158 ;

feminization of, 179 -80;

hatred of Criseyde, 179 ;

identification with narrator, 178 n;

persuasion of Criseyde, 158 -60, 164 -66, 169 -70;

as reader, 171 ;

relationship to Troilus, 154 , 166 -67;

weakness of 155

Pandeon, 8

Pardoner, 197

Paris, 153

Parliament of Fowls , 108 -140, 152 , 210 , 219 , 223 ;

conclusion of, 137 ;

narrative devices in, 109 ;

sources of, 111 -12

Patriarchy: in the Clerk's Tale , 189 ;

and courtly love, 7 ;

and gender identity, 190 ;

ideals of, 271 ;

in the Legend of Good Women , 7 -8;

and masculinity, 14 , 103 ;

in the Parliament of Fowls , 115 , 119 ;

place of hero in, 114 ;

in the Somnium Scipionus , 115 ;

transmission of values, 204

Patterson, Lee, 44 -45, 47 , 55 , 224 n, 240 n

Payne, Robert O., 88

Pears, symbolism of, 257

Perotheus (in the Knight's Tale ), 211 , 213

Petrarch, 197 , 198 , 201

Phaedra, 6 , 220

Phaeton, 103

Phallocentrism, 18 n

Philomela, 5 , 6 , 157 , 160 ;

rape of, 158 -59

Phyllis, 63

Pilgrims, 51 ;

male, 205

Placebo (in the Merchant's Tale ), 253

Pluto (in the Merchant's Tale ), 28 , 257 , 262

Poet, male, 116 , 133 , 195 ;

and aristocratic women, 22 -23;

as court poet, 14 ;

feminization of, 11 , 98 , 186 ;

humanism of, 52 ;

of the Knight's Tale , 217 ;

and reading, 139 ;

of Troilus and Criseyde , 142 ;

and the Wife of Bath, 39 .

See also Court poet; Narrators

Le Postfeminisme , 43

Postfeminist era (of Chaucerian studies), 43 -44, 46 , 48 , 53

Poststructuralism, 50

Prefeminist era (in literary criticism), 40 , 42 , 45 , 48 , 53

Priapus, 262

Procne, 157 -59

Prologue, General (Canterbury Tales) , 197 , 266 ;

Wife of Bath in, 100

Proserpina (in the Merchant's Tale ), 28 , 139 , 257 , 262 , 264 , 265

Protofeminism, in poetry of Chaucer, 11

Pygmalion, 128 n

Pyramus, 3 , 4 , 8 ;

feminization of, 6

Q

Queynte (female genitals), 226 -28, 234 , 236 , 238

R

Rabine, Leslie Wahl, 15 n, 290 n

Rape, 170 , 245 , 262 -63;

in the Legend of Good Women , 5 -6, 7 ;

in the Miller's Tale , 236 ;

in the Wife of Bath's Tale , 33

Readers, authority of, 84

Readers, female, 49 -50, 163 n, 168 ;

of Troilus and Criseyde , 175

Readers, male, 47 ;

feminization of, 186 ;

of Troilus and Criseyde , 47 , 51 , 162 -63

Reading, 165 , 167 -68, 171 ;

definition of, 276 n;

and figure of the male poet, 139 ;

gender differentiation in, 163 -64;

pleasure of, 135 -36;

and power, 174 .

See also Misreading

Reeve (narrator), 224 , 225 , 226 , 240

Reeve's Tale , 240 -42

Reid, David S., 39 , 40 , 54

Retraction , 38

Rhetoric, in the Parliament of Fowls , 122 , 134

Riley, Denise, 52

Rivalry, male, 208 , 237 ;

in the Franklin's Tale , 276

Robertson, D. W., 73 , 76 n

Role reversal, 17 -18;

in courtly love, 62 -63, 148 , 150 ;

in the Legend of Good Women , 6 ;

in the Merchant's Tale , 256

Roman de la Rose , 53 n, 92

Rondel, in the Parliament of Fowls , 131 -32

Rose, Ellen, 285

S

Saintonge, Constance, 142

Saint Valentine's Day, 118

Samson, 63

Sappho, 27 n

Sarpedoun, 153

Schibanoff, Susan, 27 n

Schleusner, Jay, 246 n

Schor, Naomi, 14 n-15n

Schweitzer, Edward D., 211

Scipio Africanus Major (in the Parliament of Fowls ), 87 , 133 -36

Scipio Africanus Minor (in the Parliament of Fowls ), 87 , 102 , 113 -14, 119 , 219 ;

conquest of Carthage by, 123

Severs, J. Burke, 198

Sexuality, 287 ;

and literary criticism, 289 ;

religious meaning of, 247

Sexuality, female, 120 , 125 , 127 , 170 , 238 ;

in the Franklin's Tale , 273 , 274 -75, 277 -78;

illegitimacy of, 112 -13;

in the Knight's Tale , 221 ;

in the Merchant's Tale , 265 ;

in the Miller's Tale , 220 , 224 -26, 227 , 234 ;

in Troilus and Criseyde , 160

Sexuality, male, 265 ;

and courtly love, 148 ;

in the Merchant's Tale , 260 -61, 262 ;

in Troilus and Criseyde , 145 -46

Sexual politics, 43 , 44 ;

in Chaucerian studies, 40 , 41 , 53 ;

in the Clerk's Tale , 189

Shakespeare, William, 285 ;

as humanist, 54

Shoaf, R. A., 275 , 276 n

Sodomy, 236 , 245

Somnium Scipionis (in the Parliament of Fowls ), 113 -15, 123 , 126 , 129 -30, 133 -36

Sparrowhawk (in the Parliament of Fowls ), 127 n

Spearing, A. C., 170

Squire (narrator), 267

Squire's Tale , 268

St. Albans, abbot of, 58 -59

Stallybrass, Peter, 238 -39

Suicide, 63 , 103 ;

of feminized men, 4 ;

of women, 73 , 279 -81

Summoner's Tale , 197

Svayamvara (oriental tale), 111

Swallow, symbolism of, 158

Symkyn (in the Reeve's Tale ), 240 -42

T

Tale of Melibee , 253 n

Tarquinius, 6 , 8

Taylor, David, 186

Tereus, 5 , 6 ;

rape of Philomela, 158 -59

Teseida , 218

Theban widows, 217 , 218 -20, 237

Thebes, siege of, 164

Theseus, 6 , 8 , 268 ;

dominance over women, 219 ;

female entourage of, 217 ;

friendship with Arcite, 212 ;

imprisonment of Palamon and Arcite, 213 ;

marriage to Hippolyta, 218 , 219 , 240 ;

subjugation of Amazons, 216 , 217 n;

victory over Creon, 209

Thisbe, 1 , 4 , 6 , 8 , 198

Thopas, Sir, 17

Tideus, 161 , 164

Tiercelets: in the Parliament of Fowls , 119 , 122 ;

in the Squire's Tale , 268

Tiercels, in the Parliament of Fowls , 120 , 121 , 131

Troilus, 17 , 215 ;

capitulation to love, 143 -44;

as courtly lover, 181 ;

debilitation by love, 149 ;

dominance over Criseyde, 151 ;

dream of the boar, 151 -52, 161 ;

feminization of, 151 , 153 n, 154 , 176 , 182 , 186 ;

glimpse of Criseyde by, 145 -47;

heroism of, 175 , 180 n;

indifference of, 109 ;

integrity of, 166 ;

as reader, 171 -72;

relationship to Pandarus, 154 , 166 -67;

transcendence of Criseyde, 182 , 272 ;

as warrior, 152

Troilus and Criseyde , 11 , 141 -187;

bedroom scene of, 149 -51;

literary criticism of, 46 ;

male characters in, 175 ;

male readers of, 47 , 51 , 162 -163;

misogyny in, 10 n, 174 , 177 ;

mythic background of, 157 ;

realism in, 141 ;

rhetorical strategies in, 148

Troy, feminized nature of, 152 -53, 155

V

Vance, Eugene, 22 , 178

Venus, 236 ;

in the Parliament of Fowls , 115 -17, 139 ;

triumph over Diana, 127

Virgil, portrayal of Dido by, 89

Virgin Mary, 191 , 253

W

Wade's boat, 262

Wallace, David, 145 n

Walter (in the Clerk's Tale ), 190 , 196 ;

change of heart, 278 ;

motivation of, 198 -99;

powerlessness of, 192 ;

second wedding of, 192 -93;

threat of Griselda to, 191 ;

tyranny of, 190 -94

War: and courtly love, 152

Western culture: and definition of women, 52 ;

feminity in, 195 ;

masculinity in, 103 , 195 ;

rape in, 170 ;

transcendence in, 54

Wetherbee, Winthrop, 146

White (allegorical character), 59 -60, 138 , 141 ;

as Christ figure, 84 -85;

compared to Dido, 92 -98;

death of, 71 , 78 ;

dominance of, 17 ;

goodness of, 108 ;

infallibility of, 56 ;

sexual purity of, 95

Widows, Theban, 217 , 218 -20, 237

Wife of Bath, 11 , 26 -57, 141 , 197 -98, 205 , 288 ;

authoritativeness of, 25 , 40 ;

curses of, 100 , 202 ;

deafness of, 32 ;

diction of, 28 -30, 33 -35;

on dreams, 99 ;

husbands of, 31 -32;

as literary character, 36 , 55 , 56 , 285 ;

as male creation, 44 -45;

powerlessness of, 35 ;

resistance to authority, 38 ;

sociological context of, 27 ;

use of quotations, 29 ;

use of Scripture, 30 -31;

as victim of misogyny, 42

Wife of Bath's Prologue , 11 , 28 -32, 100 , 133 , 197 , 251 , 269 ;

as feminist document, 39

Wife of Bath's Tale , 32 -34, 39 , 100

Witchcraft: in the Wife of Bath's Tale , 33

Woman: absence of, 195 , 237 , 260 ;

in the Book of the Duchess , 72 , 73 ;

Chaucer's portrayal of, 11 ;

fallen, 157 ;

in the Franklin's Tale, 267 ;

as goddess, 236 ;

indecisiveness of, 110 -11;

insubordination of, 189 , 190 , 192 ;

in the Knight's Tale , 215 ;

as literary creation, 84 , 85 ;

medieval view of, 237 ;

in the Merchant's Tale , 266 ;

in the Miller's Tale , 215 ;

as mystery, 37 , 46 ;

mythic, 157 , 160 , 161 ;

negation of, 35 ;

as Other, 54 , 55 , 240 ;

polite view of, 223 ;

problem of, 115 , 128 , 177 , 287 -88;

and sexuality, 93 , 113 ;

textuality of, 57 ;

as victim, 54 ;

voice of, 112

Women: betrayal of, 90 ;

Chaucer's portrayal of, 11 -12, 16 , 36 , 45 , 53 , 56 , 86 , 100 , 139 -40, 201 n, 207 , 285 ;

dangerousness of, 242 ;

empowerment of, 116 , 126 , 142 ;

garrulous, 51 ;

influence on medieval aristocracy, 19 -20;

innocence of, 1 ;

masculinization of, 17 -18, 20 n;

in Old Testament, 253 ;

ownership of books by, 163 n;

physical inferiority of, 248 ;

physiology of, 13 ;

as readers, 49 -50, 167 , 168 ;

role reversal of, 6 ;

self-determination of, 111 -12;

silence of, 27 , 39 , 51 , 55 , 56 , 112 , 124 , 141 , 159 , 189 , 191 , 195 , 207 , 260 ;

submissiveness of, 28 ;

unavailability of, 109 ;

use of language by, 35 ;

victimization of, 2 , 32 , 44 , 46 n, 53 , 94 , 261 , 268 , 279 ;

violence against, 232 , 235 , 244 , 249 , 262 ;

as writers, 51

Wommanhede: of Griselda, 198 -99;

in Troilus and Criseyde , 164

Woolf, Virginia, 27 n, 54

Writing, process of, 286

Y

Yvain (Chrétien de Troyes), 22

Compositor: Impressions, a division of Edwards Brothers

Text: 10/13 Palatino

Display: Palatino

Printer and Binder: Edwards Brothers