The Canterbury Tales
“Clerk’s Tale” (link to reading)
“Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale" (link to reading)
“Reeve’s Tale” (link to reading)
Author: Geoffrey Chaucer
Date: 14th century CE
Location: England
Course Unit: Domestic Violence and Rape
Context:
"How is a 21st century feminist to read violence toward women in The Canterbury Tales? Although the text itself invites us to laugh at or ignore rape and other forms of gendered violence, particularly in the fabliaux, I believe the tension between 'ernest' and 'game' invites an inquiry that neither discounts the genius of the text nor overlooks the sexual violence. As readers, we are directed to see sexual violence as 'pley,' something that makes us laugh. In fact, the fabliau genre invites this response. [...] 'Only joking' is a common way that we deflect the contentious, uncomfortable and taboo, yet it’s exactly this underlying seriousness that creates an anxiety that makes the humour work." (Blasutti)
Blasutti, Judith A. "Reading Rape in The Canterbury Tales." St. Jerome's University, https://www.sju.ca/sites/default/files/Judith%20Blasutti%20Reading%20Rape%20in%20The%20Canterbury%20Tales.pdf.
Topics/Questions to Consider While Reading:
How is domestic violence represented?
How is rape represented?
How are mental health issues related to these two acts of violence represented?
How is comedy used to talk about acts of violence?