| Paper 224-c | The Metaphor(s) of the Metamorphosis: Chaucer's Loathly Lady in the Wife of Bath's Tale
(Language: English)
John C. Ford, Arts, Lettres & Langues, Université Jean-François Champollion
Index terms: Biblical Studies, Gender Studies, Language and Literature - Middle English, Sexuality |
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| Abstract | Paper -a:
In Malory's story of Tristram, Isode sends greetings to Guinevere that 'there be within this londe but four lovers, and that is sir Launcelot and dame Gwenyver, and sir Trystrames and queene Isode'. However, despite this explicit comparison between the two great love stories of the Arthurian cycle, the relationships are markedly different. Whereas Lancelot and Guinevere largely remain inside the trope of knightly service to sovereign lady, Tristram's and Isode's interaction is less easily defined, drifting at times into a discourse of marriage rather than courtly love. This paper looks at the relationships from a perspective of power and control in courtly society.
Paper -b:
When one compares the 15th-century adaptation of the Arthurian material treated by Sir Thomas Malory in his Morte Darthur to his 13th-century French source, one can see more clearly the aims of the French text; that is, the changes made by Malory can serve to highlight the thematic differences between the two works and to shed light on the concerns of the Mort le Roi Artu. This paper studies the differences in aim and construction in two specific episodes, that of the Maiden of Escalot and that of the poisoned fruit, by looking at the use and function of entrelacement, the ambiguity of words, the elusiveness of knowledge and truth, and the role of woman in the deterioration of the Arthurian world.
Paper -c:
This paper examines Chaucer's use of the loathly lady motif in the Wife of Bath's Tale, unique in that the lady becomes the agent of her own transformation whereas in other versions her transformation is always the result of external enchantment.
Chaucer apparently applies medieval concepts of exegesis to transform an essentially pagan image into a Christian metaphor of redemption and reward; this sophisticated manipulation is credible in the mouth of Dame Alice, uncannily competent in scripture and dogma. Chaucer likewise succeeds in providing a metaphor of chivalric justice, equally appropriate as Dame Alice's narrative is a rejoinder to the Knight's Tale. Chaucer therefore manages to marry the often conflicting Christian values concerning marriage and chivalric ideals of courtly love.
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