IMC 2009: Sessions
Session 1004: Unorthodox Domesticity: Familial Relations in Middle English Romance
Wednesday 15 July 2009, 09.00-10.30
| Sponsor: | Medieval Romance Society |
|---|---|
| Organiser: | Chloe Morgan, Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York |
| Moderator/Chair: | Amy Burge, Centre for Women's Studies, University of York |
| Paper 1004-a | Opposing Forces: The Foundation and Destruction of the Family in The Romauns of Partenay (Language: English) Index terms: Gender Studies, Language and Literature - Middle English |
| Paper 1004-b | 'And sigge it is mi kinswoman': Monasticism as Alternative Family in Middle English Romance (Language: English) Index terms: Language and Literature - Middle English, Lay Piety, Religious Life |
| Paper 1004-c | 'This maiden he loved als his lif': Fatherly Obsession, Daughterly Dysfunction, and the Consequences of Paternal Tyranny in Middle English Romance (Language: English) Index terms: Gender Studies, Language and Literature - Middle English, Sexuality |
| Abstract | 'The family' is central to many Middle English romances, providing both a domestic point of departure for the hero or heroine, and an ideal goal towards which the narratives strive. Yet these narratives, whilst simultaneously idealising familial ties, also problematize these relationships by featuring implicit and explicit threats to the domestic order. The bonds between family members are tested and restructured by factors such as atypical sexuality, geographical displacement, mistaken identity, and intergenerational conflict. This session will ask why romance, a genre ostensibly invested in orthodox family models, is so willing to include these subversive and dramatic elements, and what effect they have on readings of the texts. |