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Home In widewes habit blak: Chaucer's Criseyde and Late-Medieval Widows

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In widewes habit blak: Chaucer's Criseyde and Late-Medieval Widows

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Identifier	Thesis 1786
Author	Middleton, Michelle L.
Title	In widewes habit blak: Chaucer's Criseyde and Late-Medieval Widows
Publisher	Central Connecticut State University
Date	2005
Resource Type	Master's Thesis
Notes	The widowed status of Chaucer's Criseyde has a profound influence on her behavior throughout the poem. Her actions, as well as her interactions with others, are all products of her situation. Criseyde should be examined within the context of an unprotected woman living alone in a wartime medieval society. She is attempting to negotiate within the patriarchal system in which she is living, while at the same time trying to find the most desirable circumstance possible. Criseyde's actions need to be weighed against the options available to her at such a time. An examination of social and moral expectations of fourteenth-century widows is enlightening to Criseyde's dilemma. As a woman, especially a widow, she was attempting to manage a very precarious situation. The church and society had views concerning the expected actions of widows, none of which was entirely free from problems. The requirements of mourning were clearly set however, as were the rather limiting choices available to a woman suddenly facing widowhood. Also, the safety of a woman living without the protection of a man in such a time would definitely have been at risk. Any woman operating outside of the realm of the required elements would have faced social disgrace and a possibly dangerous situation. Weighing the actions of Chaucer's Criseyde against the information on fourteenth-century widows, presents a new reading of Troilus and Criseyde. Her choices suddenly seem logical instead of either manipulative or weak as has been interpreted throughout the years. Her concern for her safety and her social acceptance becomes natural and makes sense to the reader. Criseyde's status as a widow does indeed play an extremely important role in the interpretation of her character. Criseyde's actions and choices show the difficulties, and ultimate inability, of a woman during the fourteenth-century trying to operate entirely on her own terms within the confines of a patriarchal society.
Subject	Chaucer, Geoffrey, d. 1400. Troilus and Criseyde Chaucer, Geoffrey, d. 1400 -- Characters -- Women
Department	Department of English
Advisor	Barrington, Candace
Type	Text
Digital Format	application/pdf
Language	eng
OCLC number	713734417
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