November 17, 2006
Reflective Essay # 2
On most weeks, I am able to complete my scheduled reading by the Wednesday on which we discuss that selection in class. For the Troilus and Criseyde reading I purchased a modernization; The Portable Chaucer, edited and translated by Theodore Morrison. This particular translation is helpful, because I have found that it does not deviate far from the
Riverside text. In most cases, Morrison has simply updated the spelling. This modernization allows me to read more quickly than the Riverside Chaucer, but also gives me a feel for the language and format of the original text.
However, I have been too passive in the reading process. This half of the semester, I have slipped into the habit of reading far too quickly and impatiently. As a result, I do not absorb enough of the subtleties, nuances and patterns of the text. Therefore, my goal for the remainder of the semester is to increase my active engagement with the text.
I am enjoying the opportunity to read Chaucer, particularly selections of the Canterbury Tales. I did not have any prior exposure to Chaucerian material before this class. I now realize that Chaucer connects to a great deal of literary texts, and so I feel that by reading Chaucer I am more aware in my other literature classes. I especially enjoy Chaucer’s exploration of personal identity and the ways in which it connects to society, gender and sexuality.
One of the concepts that have most influenced me in our discussions of medieval literature is the portrayal of narcissism in courtly relationships. I think that this concept has a great deal of exigency; I find connections to courtly narcissism in other works of literature, as well as in contemporary media and idealized views of romance.
I have not yet made enough progress on my research portfolio. I have begun the process of browsing and selecting articles, but I have not yet decided on a theme. I considered continuing with the topic of “marriage and adultery”, which I selected for the first half of my portfolio. However, most of the scholarly articles I have found on Troilus and Criseyde do not fit with this topic, and so it might be beneficial to choose another. In addition, a different topic would help to broaden my knowledge and perspectives on courtly literature. I am considering researching either the Chaucerian portrayal of sexuality, or Chaucerian depictions of the masculine.
November 10, 2006
Metaphor, Diction and the Female Body in Chaucer’s Merchant’s Tale (Practical Criticism # 2)
Medieval modes of marriage often prized women solely for the perceived worth of their bodies. Aristocratic tradition viewed the female body as a commodity, made valuable by its sexual desirability, and, of course, its ability to bear children. This system served to brand women as sexual objects and rob them of agency. In The Merchant’s Tale, Chaucer employs metaphor and diction to portray the sexual objectification of women inherent in the aristocratic marriage system.
The dialogue of Januarie as he describes his criteria for a suitable bride is in the construction of an extended metaphor:
She shal nat passe twenty yeer, certayn;
Oold fissh and yong flessh wolde I have ful fayn.
Bet is, quod he, a pyk than a pykerel,
And bet than old boef is the tendre veel (Lines 1417-1420).
Within this metaphor, Januarie identifies feminine sexuality as an edible object; he directly equates the female body with an assortment of meats, including both “fissh” and “boef.” This metaphor assumes greater significance when viewed in conjunction with the opening three lines of the tale; “And sixty yeer a wyflees man was hee/ And folwed ay his bodily delyt/ On wommen, ther as was his appetyt” (1248-1250.) In these two passages, therefore, Chaucer constructs a figure by which the reader recognizes Januarie’s appetite for the flesh of meat as interchangeable with his appetite for the flesh of women. This figure reveals that Januarie views the female body as a commodity that he will gain control of through marriage. He values women only as sexual objects.
The figurative use of animal meat to signify the female body is particularly relevant through Januarie’s use of the word “veel.” In one usage, the word “veal” refers to a calf raised and slaughtered for its meat (OED.) An extension of the metaphor of “woman as food” to this word meaning reveals that medieval women, like calves, are raised exclusively for the physical value of their bodies.
With this metaphor, Chaucer successfully establishes the fact that Januarie (as well as the whole of medieval society), values only the physicality of women. Because Januarie perceives his wife as an edible commodity, he robs her of her humanity. Throughout The Merchant’s Tale, May possesses little personal agency; she is sadly flat, her characterization reduced solely to her sexuality. Even when she breaks free of her husband’s control, her actions are purely sexual. She engages in an affair with Damyan; “Up to the tree he caste his eyen two/ And saugh that damyan his wyf had dressed/ In swich manere it may nat been expressed” (Lines 360-362).
It is not coincidental that a medieval merchant narrates this tale of women’s sexual objectification. The OED defines a “merchant” as “a person whose occupation is the purchase and sale of goods or commodities for profit.” By constructing his tale as the account of a merchant, Chaucer suggests that medieval marriage modes serve to commodify women and market their sexuality.
Through diction and the metaphor of “women as consumable commodity” in The Merchant’s Tale, Chaucer demonstrates the ways in which aristocratic, medieval marriage modes sexually objectify women.
Rebecca's Courtly Blog 