Practice work english

Perry 1

Michael Perry

Stephen Yeager

ENGL 304 2013/3 A

27 February 2014

Proposal:

Women shown as a Detriment in “The Reeve’s Tale”

Of the tales in Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales”, “The Reeve’s Tale” is one of “the comic

tales that Chaucer's readers encounter first and remember best” (Heffernan 311). According to

Peter Beidler, “[b]ecause [of their] date, provenance, or demonstrated similarities to [the]

Chaucerian work […]”, Chaucer’s tale appears to take inspiration from three earlier works “and

it has been determined that Chaucer would [have most likely had] access to” them (Beidler,

Chaucer's "Reeve's Tale", Boccaccio's "Decameron", IX, 6, and Two "Soft" German Analogues

237). 1 In addition to its innovations, a number of the similarities between Chaucer’s tale and

what the three stories Beidler labels “hard” analogues present female characters as lacking

agency, unable to make proper use of reason (foolish) and easily beguiled by men.2 This paper

explores “The Reeve’s Tale” and the three stories Beidler sees as inspiring Chaucer’s tale to

show Chaucer’s work as deliberately anti-feminist.

Argument Break Down/Organising Statement/Thesis Map

This essay does so by showing that Chaucer’s changes lower both the wife and daughter

characters to completely agentless liabilities who thwart the husband’s efforts. It explores

1 For more information on hard and soft analogues, see pages 237 and 238 of Beidler’s

Chaucer's “"Reeve's Tale", Boccaccio's "Decameron", IX, 6, and Two "Soft" German

Analogues”. 2 Robert E. Lewis’s “The English Fabliau Tradition and Chaucer's "Miller's Tale"” in Vol. 79,

No. 3 of Modern Philology details qualities of the English Fabliau as well as shows that the

tricking of women is not foreign to this genre.

Perry 2

examples of these representations of women exist specifically in issues of consent surrounding

Aleyn’s and John’s sexual encounters with Symkyn’s daughter and wife, respectively.

Abridged Annotated Bibliography

Beidler, Peter G. "The Reeve's Tale." Correale, Robert M. and Mary Hamel. Sources and

Analogues of The Canterbury Tales. Ed. Robert M. Correale and Mary Hamel. Vol. 1.

Rochester: Boydell & Brewer, 2003. 23-76. Print.

In addition to exploring reasons why Chaucer would be familiar with specific

analogues of the “cradle-trick” story, this article refers to other articles of interest.

Beidler also points to both versions of Le meunier et les .II. clers as of “prime

importance for the study of possible sources for the Reeve’s Tale. This work:

• Provides original texts and translations of the three analogues of the “Reeve’s

Tale” to be focus on in my research – Le meunier et les .II. clers (Texts A & B),

Een bispel van .ij. clerken, and Decameron IX, 6. Great for immediate dealings

with the analogues themselves.

• Directs to W. M. Hart’s "The Reeve's Tale: A Comparative Study of Chaucer's

Narrative Art", which in turn solidifies his limited focus on Le meunier et les

.II. clers to its A & B texts.

• Sets Le meunier et les .II. clers: Text A apart as having “a more polished style

than Text B”.

Biggs, Frederick M. "The Miller's Tale and Decameron 3·4." The Journal of English and

Germanic Philology 108.1 (2009): 59-80. Web.

Perry 3

Chaucer, Geoffrey, and Larry D. Benson. “‘The Reeve's Tale.’” The Riverside Chaucer,

Oxford University Press, 2008, pp. 77–84.

Heffernan, Carol Falvo. "Chaucer's "Miller's Tale" and "Reeve's Tale," Boccaccio's

"Decameron," and the French Fabliaux." Italica 81.3 (2004): 311-324. Web.

Having received both a master’s degree in arts from the University of Wisconsin and a

Ph. D. from New York University, Heffernan is an English language and literature

educator. Among other subjects, she teachers the Chaucer, Women in Medieval

Literature as well as Medieval Literature aside from Chaucer courses. The majority of

her most recently published articles are in relation to Chaucer and his works. She has

recently published several books dealing with various issues including Middle English

and analyzing both Chaucer and Boccaccio. Known for her Chaucer-related work, Carol

F. Heffernan has proven her insight on Chaucer and matters relating to medieval

literature. Her essay:

• Presents the idea that in “The Reeve’s Tale” Malyne is a consenting sexual

partner because she is not “won with a ring”.

• Points out the significance of the moment when the wife expresses that she has

almost gone to the wrong bed when in fact she does just that.

• Presents the term “metrical novellas” as appropriate for use when discussing

Chaucer’s comic tales.

McGrady, Donald. "Chaucer and the "Decameron" Reconsidered." The Chaucer Review 12.1

(1977): 1-26. Web.