The Canterbury Tales Rhetoric And Gender In Marriage Essay
University of New Orleans
ScholarWorks@UNO
University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations
Dissertations and Theses
8-8-2007
Geoffrey Chaucer 's The Canterbury Tales:
Rhetoric and Gender in Marriage
Andrea Marcotte
University of New Orleans
Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td
Recommended Citation
Marcotte, Andrea, "Geoffrey Chaucer 's The Canterbury Tales: Rhetoric and Gender in Marriage" (2007). University of New Orleans
Theses and Dissertations. Paper 591.
This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks@UNO. It has been accepted for inclusion in
University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator …show more content…
. . it seems that she is somehow impelled or forced to situate herself in the world constituted by authority—the world of doctrine, official texts, and the patriarchal law” (Leicester 70). 11 Chaucer created a tale teller who is both seemingly aware and unaware of her circumstances based on her sources. The Wife cites authoritative documents to argue in favor of her position, but some critics argue that she does not use her sources appropriately because she fails to completely understand them. 12 Chaucer may have intended her ignorance as part of her ethos: “She seems to feel that her only recourse is to appropriate the techniques of scriptural gloss and the manipulation of sacred texts that are used against her, and she does so in a voice that is often nervous, hostile, and hairsplitting” (Leicester 71). 13 Though
Leicester makes a provocative inference here, I would suggest that Chaucer portrayed the Wife as if she actually believes she is in control of the argument and not at all nervous or doubtful …show more content…
(ll. 351-356)
Complete servitude is stressed in this passage, not love; therefore, the keystone of their marriage is her obedience to him as her master. This defies the Wife’s idea of wedded bliss as well as the
Merchant’s complete disposition to pleasure.
The Clerk’s Tale evokes pathos in portraying Griselda’s constant and unwavering devotion to her husband. The pilgrims feel pity for her and sympathize with the loss of her children. Petrarch bears witness to this pathos in his account to Giovanni Boccaccio: “I gave it to one of our mutual friends . . . to read . . . When scarcely half-way through the composition, he was suddenly arrested by a burst of tears. When again . . . he made a manful attempt to continue, he was again interrupted by a sob” (Miller 139). The touching patience of Griselda imitates the patience of Christ, and the Clerk thus adds another dimension to his ethos as a religious authority. Some critics equate Walter with God: “In the Clerk’s Tale we have a man functioning as God, with his godlike activity clearly underlined by allusions to Job” (Allen and Moritz
180). 27 Condren, however, disagrees; he states that Griselda represents Christ, and
ScholarWorks@UNO
University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations
Dissertations and Theses
8-8-2007
Geoffrey Chaucer 's The Canterbury Tales:
Rhetoric and Gender in Marriage
Andrea Marcotte
University of New Orleans
Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td
Recommended Citation
Marcotte, Andrea, "Geoffrey Chaucer 's The Canterbury Tales: Rhetoric and Gender in Marriage" (2007). University of New Orleans
Theses and Dissertations. Paper 591.
This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks@UNO. It has been accepted for inclusion in
University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator …show more content…
. . it seems that she is somehow impelled or forced to situate herself in the world constituted by authority—the world of doctrine, official texts, and the patriarchal law” (Leicester 70). 11 Chaucer created a tale teller who is both seemingly aware and unaware of her circumstances based on her sources. The Wife cites authoritative documents to argue in favor of her position, but some critics argue that she does not use her sources appropriately because she fails to completely understand them. 12 Chaucer may have intended her ignorance as part of her ethos: “She seems to feel that her only recourse is to appropriate the techniques of scriptural gloss and the manipulation of sacred texts that are used against her, and she does so in a voice that is often nervous, hostile, and hairsplitting” (Leicester 71). 13 Though
Leicester makes a provocative inference here, I would suggest that Chaucer portrayed the Wife as if she actually believes she is in control of the argument and not at all nervous or doubtful …show more content…
(ll. 351-356)
Complete servitude is stressed in this passage, not love; therefore, the keystone of their marriage is her obedience to him as her master. This defies the Wife’s idea of wedded bliss as well as the
Merchant’s complete disposition to pleasure.
The Clerk’s Tale evokes pathos in portraying Griselda’s constant and unwavering devotion to her husband. The pilgrims feel pity for her and sympathize with the loss of her children. Petrarch bears witness to this pathos in his account to Giovanni Boccaccio: “I gave it to one of our mutual friends . . . to read . . . When scarcely half-way through the composition, he was suddenly arrested by a burst of tears. When again . . . he made a manful attempt to continue, he was again interrupted by a sob” (Miller 139). The touching patience of Griselda imitates the patience of Christ, and the Clerk thus adds another dimension to his ethos as a religious authority. Some critics equate Walter with God: “In the Clerk’s Tale we have a man functioning as God, with his godlike activity clearly underlined by allusions to Job” (Allen and Moritz
180). 27 Condren, however, disagrees; he states that Griselda represents Christ, and