Image of Women in Canterbury Tales, Burgermeister's Daughter and the Writings of Thomas Aquinas
What was the predominant image of women and women's place in medieval society? A rather sexist or misogynistic view--by twentieth century standards of course--was prevalent among learned clerics. The writings of the theologian Thomas Aquinas typify this view. But although the religious of Europe's abbeys and universities dominate the written record of the period, Thomistic sexism was not the only view of women's proper role. In his Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer portrays women in a much more positive way, characterizing them as somewhat empowered. Actual historical events, such as the scandal and subsequent litigation revolving around Anna Buschler which Steven Ozment details in The Burgermeister's Daughter, suggest something of a compromise between these two literary extremes. While it is true that life was no utopia for medieval women, neither was life universally horrible or society thoroughly misogynistic.
The Church's views on women had deep scriptural roots. In his letter to Timothy, the apostle Paul writes "Let a woman learn in silence with all submissiveness" (1 Tim. 2:11). This view rests on the story of Eve's creation as a helper--not an equal--to man from the rib of Adam in Genesis. It also condemns Eve, and by association all women, for allowing the serpent to trick her into Original Sin. In Summa Theologica, Aquinas extends Paul's argument for female inferiority even farther:
As regards the individual nature, woman is defective and misbegotten, for the active force in the male seed tends to the production of a perfect likeness in the masculine sex; while the production of woman comes from defect i...
... middle of paper ...
...quinas did not by themselves represent the views of society at large--although society by no means completely ignored them. Aquinas and Chaucer's Wife of Bath represent two extreme views of medieval women, while the real nature of women's condition in the period lay somewhere in the middle. Any 20th century ideas of wholesale female oppression in the middle ages are relativist "myths" which serve to glamorize the modern period rather than describe historical reality.
Endnotes
1 By the 11th century, roughly two centuries before Aquinas, even parish priests had become generally celibate, suggesting the widespread adoption of this practice among clergy by the 13th century (Western Heritage, 190).
2 Interestingly, the knight's crime is rape, a crime against women. His quick punishment for the rape further highlights some security enjoyed by medieval women.
Mrazik, Tina. "The Zodiac Killer" Online. Internet. 1998. Available: href="http://crimelibrary.com/zodiac/zodiac/zodiacmain.html">http://crimelibrary.com/zodiac/zodiac/zodiacmain.htmlWorks Consulted:Graysmith, Robert. Zodiac New York: Berkley Books, 1987. Penn, Gareth. Times Seventeen: The Amazing Story of the Zodiac Murders in California and Massachusetts, 1966-1981 New York: The Foxglove Press, 1987.
What was the predominant image of women and women’s place in medieval society? Actual historical events, such as the scandal and subsequent litigation revolving around Anna Buschler which Steven Ozment detail’s in the Burgermeisters Daughter, suggests something off a compromise between these two literary extremes. It is easy to say that life in the sixteenth century was surely no utopia for women but at least they had some rights.
The Zodiac Killer is an unidentified man who is presumed to be a serial killer that operated in Northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Murdering at least five people, but the Zodiac claims to have killed upwards of 37 people in total. In 1969 the Zodiac Killer began sending letters to the Bay Area newspapers, taking credit for the five killings and threatening further violence. The Zodiac Killer would call and send cryptic letters to the law enforcement agencies in Northern California, taunting them since they were unable to bring him to justice. The police had suspects but none that they could ever charge for the murders, due to lack of evidence, so this mystery still remains unsolved. The cultural impact that the Zodiac Killer has had on tv, movies and the media is still around today and has had many shows and movies remade after what this killer did. The cultural impact as well as for the families of the victims still remains today with still no closure, for those families who live in Northern California still there is the fear that crosses the minds on how such an awful criminal was once a part of their society, someone they may
To be the Zodiac Killer, this person had to be clever with his word. Everything he says is a puzzle on its own. Ciphers and an array of symbols hide his identity from the public. The main suspects were Lawrence Kane, Arthur Lee Allen, and Rick Marshall. Lawrence Kane was a prime suspect due to his nature of fitting as the descriptions of the Zodiac Killer. His height and weight resembled the Zodiac Killer very well, unlike the other suspects. Arthur Lee Allen was seen as the killer mainly because of odd nature of a person. He always seemed like he was near the killings when they occurred. He was also known to where a Zodiac watch and made many references to making bombs. The last suspect was Rick Marshall. He owned a typewriter like the Zodiac killer and he just so happened to live near one of the killings. These were the prime suspects for the
People thought Zodiac was unintelligent, but that perception was obviously wrong because he had training in the following areas: explosives, cryptography, astrology, chemistry and guns. He also knew how to prevent leaving fingerprints on crime scenes; he could have learned that from jail. He knew he was clever and it made him happy to know that the police seemed to be running in circles. His letters themselves were works of art. He used codes and symbols as easily as normal people print the alphabet. It was thought at the beginning that the letters were in Zodiac's own handwriting. Later on, the theory was that he was using samples of alphabet letters taken from other people. He then used a tracing and enlarging device to reprint them into a letter. This man was clever enough to throw off the police by coding of his letters. He often used astrological symbols and signs. If his intent was to frighten San Francisco, then he achieved his goals without a doubt. His name, Zodiac.
In the medieval times, women were treated poorly and as property by almost everyone, but mostly by men. The church’s view of women was that they were from the devil. They were known to be evil and inferior to men, men were allowed to treat women however they pleased. A Dominican, named Nicolas Byard declared in the thirteenth century, ‘ A man may chastise his wife and beat her for correction, for she is of his household, therefore the lord may chastise his own.’ In the fourteenth century a woman was told by her
The conception of woman in medieval literature is split between the clergy's portrayal of her as a seductive sinner or the aristocratic courtly love tradition in which she serves to transform earthly love into spiritual sublimity. According to Kaufman, this medieval view represents only a very small, male, aristocratic population (3%); her actual situation was better than the literature would indicate. But that gap narrowed during the Renaissance and as the "medieval agricultural economy . . . yielded to Tudor mercantile capitalism, . . . woman became an economic cipher and social possession" (141).
Traditional female characteristics and female unrest are underscored in literary works of the Middle Ages. Although patriarchal views were firmly established back then, traces of female contempt for such beliefs could be found in several popular literary works. Female characters’ opposition to societal norms serves to create humor and wish- fulfillment for female and male audiences to enjoy. “Lanval” by Marie De France and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” by Geoffrey Chaucer both show subversion of patriarchal attitudes by displaying the women in the text as superior or equal to the men. However, “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” also incorporates conventional societal ideas by including degradation of women and mistreatment of a wife by her husband.
Kelleher, Michael D, and Nuys D. Van. "this Is the Zodiac Speaking": Into the Mind of a Serial Killer. Westport, Conn: Praeger, 2002. Print.
The Medieval era was a period dominated with Christianity and assigned gender role that affected one social and political role within society most particularly the role accustoms to women who were assigned the roles of mother, wife and caretaker. The prologue of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath portrays a complex narrator who argues against the societal roles of women as submissive while also exposing her marriage and sexual life in which during her time would be frown upon. By challenging the stereotypical role of a medieval woman by defying a male-dominated society the narrator uses this authority to empower women. The narrators open the prologue stating that her auctorite does not come from possessing authority but rather that her story
In medieval England, society’s roles were dominated by men and women were either kept at home or doing labor work. Among the most famous medieval English literature, “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer, lies ‘The Wife of Bath's Prologue’ and ‘The Wife of Bath's Tale.’ Within, Chaucer shares his perspective of the Wife of Bath, the Queen, and the Crone. Through the use of symbolism and diction, Chaucer aims to change society’s expectations of women.
... allows the present day reader to gain insight into commonly held beliefs regarding women during the 14th century. By allowing Alison to have a sense of humor and joke about aspects of her marriage, Chaucer was able to make numerous points regarding women that would not have been acknowledged had a female author created them. By making Alison a laughable character, Chaucer was able to make points about women such as the unfairness of double standards, the acknowledgement of female desire, and the reality of women marrying well to improve their economic situations. Chaucer also provides us with detailed examples of commonly held stereotypes regarding women that are still relevant approximately seven centuries later.
The Zodiac Killer is one of the most notorious serial killers in American history even though he hasn’t committed as many murders as other killers have. The Zodiac operated in northern California from the early 1960s to late 1970s. He is self proclaimed as the Zodiac Killer and is directly linked to the murders of five people and possibly more.
In the seventies, we could do anything. It was the rainbow coalition, anti-Vietnam, all of those elements. And then we morphed over to where it became extremely straight-laced and non-risk taking. I think we are beginning to take risks again but within those societal norms.” Theatre only goes so far as society will allow it, as showcased by the Conservatory and it being influenced by the culture surrounding it. The mirror that is theatre reflects a culture and what it may want or not want to know, depending on how far it is allowed to
For thousands of years, people have been arguing that theatre is a dying art form. Many people think theatre is all just cheesy singing and dancing or just boring old Shakespeare, but there is much more to theatre than those two extremes. Theatre is important to our society because it teaches us more about real life than recorded media. Theatre has been around for thousands of years and began as a religious ceremony that evolved into an art form that teaches about the true essence of life. Theatre can incorporate profound, and provocative, observations of the human condition that can transcend time; lessons found in Greek plays can still be relevant to the modern world. People argue that the very essence of theatre is being snuffed out by modern