Because however bad we are within,
We want to be thought wise and free from sin.
(Lines 943-944)
Although
I’ve read Chaucer’s “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” before, I had no idea it was inspired
by Gower’s “The Tale of Florent.” Whoever had this copy of Nine Medieval Romances of Magic before me marked up Chaucer’s tale
quite remarkably…no pun intended. He or she definitely loved to highlight and
color code, so I didn’t have to read Gower’s tale (or even the little
introduction) to discover and analyze the similarities and differences between
the two. I have to say, I’m kind of glad Chaucer added the rape because it
creates a more interesting story, even if “more interesting” includes the
fact that there’s a “happy ever after” for the rapist knight in the end. Let me
emphasize this a little more in case Chaucer didn’t hear me in his grave: YOU
GAVE THE RAPIST KNIGHT A HAPPY EVER AFTER DUDE.
WHY? I understand that a male raping a female is relevant to the
hierarchy of the sexes that practically produces women’s desire for power, but
I’ve still always hated it about the tale, so I’m excited to read “The Tale of
Florent” and pretend the rape never happens. Anyways, there’s nothing else
about the tale I have to complain about it. I was a little shaken up when I
read that King Arthur’s court didn’t have a feast because, you know, that’s what King
Arthur’s court does best, but that’s exactly what makes the absence of a feast
especially significant, so I get it. I just wanted a feast. Food is the answer to the riddle, guys.
The concept
of a male trying to find out what a woman wants in general is classic,
and Chaucer writes the search as a literal quest, which is rather humorous to
me. I mean, I’m imagining a medieval man, post-argument with his wife, posed
like “The Thinker,” and the thought bubble above his head is like, “What do
these women F*CKING WANT? SOS.” Jump cut: he hops on his noble steed and rides
off into the countryside. There’s a music overlay as he inquires far and wide
about the answer. In the end, his wife just wants him to let her on top more…
Come on, guys, that’s hilarious.
I’m curious
to see how other people interpret the old, ugly woman the knight meets because,
to me, the riddle has no single answer if every woman the knight speaks to
desires something different. I think the desire for sovereignty is unique to
the hag, even though “no woman, wife, or maid, or widow” contradicts the
knight when he gives it to King Arthur as the answer. I think the hag
strips herself of any actual power when she asks, “Then have I got the upper hand, since I may
choose and govern as I say?” Then, she only becomes both fair and good because her husband gives her permission to choose between ugly and good or fair and (possibly) bad, which is just so nice of him that her magic unlocks the options for her - I guess. Girl, you say power is what you want most. No one ever said that power had to be granted to you by a man. Are we
to assume that a woman can only obtain power if a man gives it to her? (For
Christ’s sake, Word (2010) won’t even let me type that last sentence with the
female pronoun before the male pronoun. I’m pissed.) Seriously, where’s the
tale where a woman takes power away from a man without his permission?
"The Wife of Bath's Tale" in Nine Medieval Romances of Magic by Marijane Osborn.
Since you've read the tales, maybe you could briefly explain the stories to me. I'm so lost as to what the "The Tale of Florent" even is. Let alone why there were fairies and elves mentioned in the beginning and a side story included on Mida's-tale (donkey ears).
ReplyDeleteOddly Enough, the rape scene + happy ending combo didn't bother me. I think it's because the Knight claims he won't ever do it again (and obviously, as a fictional knight, he will keep his word) and the fact that in the end he does what no knight really has so far...let the woman make an important decision. That last part really warmed my heart after all the previous stories, and his repentance was enough I guess for me to forgive him of the act. I mean, it's not like the story said he'd done it before and we don't know all the details that lead up to that act. Not to mention, yes, women were lower on the hierarchy then.
I love you're little comment/gif on men trying to figure out what women want. It made me laugh X) It is definitely something the two genders deal with today.
I did wonder too why the Hag's answer was the one he took back to the queen...but I guess maybe it just sounded like the best answer he'd heard so far. Or, because she was an old, magical being who can poof 24 ladies here or gone, he just trusted her more in general.
As for her comment near the end about power, I think it was meant to be seen as more of a polite and clarifying statement than one of submission. By asking, she is respected his "position" as a man of the time but is also pointing out he's giving her his trust in the decision of his own free will...cause only then would the action be considered honorable (remember courtly love? "That which a lover takes against the will of his beloved has no relish"). I saw it more as an agreement between two equal partners for once, which is a very modern sentiment (to ask and listen to your married partner). Nice overall comments on modern female power though!
I wrote a long answer/ comment to your post here, but hit a button this (frustrating blog site didnt like and all was erased...so, here's a shorter version:
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree re the sentence and clemency given the knight in the end. Chaucer here, as opposed to John Gower's 'Florent' tale, is generously giving us (mostly men) a larger lesson to ponder. He allows the rapist to be educated and subsequently redeemed not merely to give a criminal a year's vacation and in the end a hot wife and restored respect; this is a lesson to show us all, esp men, what can happen when women are given the "reigns", the power of decision-making, the sovereignty, to offer their wisdom of care in deciding what's best for society as a whole. Yes sovereignty in the home with their men, but this is a great day for women! Because what is highlighted here is women's skill and ability to render, patient, thoughtful, gracefully intelligent and carefully crafted JUDICIAL PRUDENCE! Rather than the often used "knee jerk" eye for an eye mentality men in power so often resort to. Guen and her "cohort, the Hag/Fairy Queen construct a "lesson" that gives society not only a better man who can teach other men that might not otherwise listen to a women's perspective--men teaching, modeling good behavior, is a better delivery because unfortunately too often men only listen to other men. Chaucer says, we need good men to mentor the other idiots!