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May as a Figure of Resistance in the Merchant’s Tale

Year 2021, Volume: 38 Issue: 2, 548 - 561, 15.12.2021
https://doi.org/10.32600/huefd.888264

Abstract

As a popular genre of medieval English literature, fabliau is a short, bawdy, and humorous story of the adultery of a young wife who is married to an old husband. In the Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer includes the Merchant’s Tale as a fabliau in which May, the young wife of January, is engaged in an extramarital affair. May’s representation as adulterous and lecherous seems to reinforce the antifeminist claims of the genre; however, at the same time her active participation into the action of the fabliau empowers her to subvert and re-define her subordinate position as a woman. Although May is subject to the forces of the dominant ideology of the patriarchy completely, she creates oppositional meanings and pleasure by using resources of the dominant power. Indeed, she employs the tactics and guileful ruses of the weak to follow her illicit sexual adventure and gain partial freedom of her body and space. By examining May’s resistance to dominant structures in the context of John Fiske’s popular culture theory, this article analyses May as a figure of resistance who evades her subjection and transforms it to her advantage by making use of, what Fiske calls, the tactics, artful stratagems, and tricks of the weak.

References

  • Bloch, H. R. (1987). Medieval misogyny. Representations, 1(20). 1-24.
  • Bloch, H. R. (1986). The Scandal of the Fabliaux. Chicago: U of Chicago Press.
  • Butler, S. M. (2006). Runaway wives: Husband desertion in medieval England. Journal of Social History, 40(2), 337-359.
  • Chaucer, G. (2008). The Merchant’s Tale. In L. Benson (Ed.), The Riverside Chaucer. Oxford: Oxford UP.
  • de Certeau, M. (1988). The Practice of everyday life. S. Rendall (Trans.), London: U of California Press.
  • Ellis, D. S. (1990). The Merchant’s Wife’s Tale: Language, sex, and commerce in Margery Kempe and in Chaucer. Exemplaria 2 (2), 595-626.
  • Ferrante, J. (1988). Public postures and private maneuvers: Roles medieval women play. In M. Erler and M. Kowaleski (Eds.), Women and Power in the Middle Ages (pp. 213-229). London: The U of Georgia Press.
  • Fiske, J. (1991a). Understanding popular culture. London and New York: Routledge.
  • Fiske, J. (1991b). Reading the popular. London and New York: Routledge.
  • Hanawalt, B. A. (1998). Medieval English women in rural and urban domestic space. Dumbartan Oaks Papers, 52, 19-26.
  • Hines, J. (1993). The Fabliau in English. London: Longman.
  • Horowitz, M. C. (1975). Aristotle and woman. In Science and Woman (pp. 183-213). Atlanta.
  • Johnson, L. (1983). Women on top: Antifeminism in the Fabliaux? The Modern Language Review. Modern Humanities Research Association, 78(2), 298-307.
  • Kaufman, A. S. (2017). Fabliau. In S. Echard and R. Rouse (Eds.), The Encyclopaedia of Medieval Literature in Britain (pp. 1-7). John Wiley & Sons.
  • Karras, R. M. (2005). Sexuality in medieval Europe: Doing unto others. New York: Routledge.
  • Kohler, M. (2004). Vision, logic, and the comic production of reality in the “Merchant’s Tale” and two French Fabliaux. The Chaucer Review, 39(2), 137-150.
  • Ladd, A. (1975). Classifications of the Fabliaux by plot structure. Proceedings of the International Colloquium. (pp. 23-25). Glasgow, University of Glasgow.
  • Laskaya, A. (1995). Chaucer’s Approach to gender in the Canterbury Tales. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer.
  • Lefebvre, H. (1991). Production of space. Donald Nicholson-Smith (Trans.). Malden: Blackwell Publishing. “misogyny.” Oxford English Dictionary. (2021). Oxford Dictionaries. Retrieved from www.oxforddictionaries.com/definiton/english/misogyny?q=Misogyny.
  • Murray, J. (1995). Thinking about gender: The diversity of medieval perspectives. In J. Carpenter and S. Maclean (Eds.), Power of the Weak: Studies on Medieval Women (pp. 1-26). Chicago: U. of Illinois Press.
  • Perfetti, L. (2006). The Lewd and the Ludic: Female pleasure in the Fabliaux. In H. A. Crocker (Ed.), Comic Provocations: Exposing the Corpus of Old French Fabliaux (pp. 17-31). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Reis, H. (2005). Adem’in bilmediği, Havva’nın gör dediği: Ortaçağda Türk ve İngiliz kadın yazarlar. Ankara: Dörtbay.
  • Reis, H. (2012). Chaucer’s Fabliau women: Paradigms of resistance and pleasure. Hacettepe University Journal of Faculty of Letters, 28(2), 123-135.
  • Reis, H. (2013). Chaucer and the representation of old age. Ankara: Ürün.
  • Rigby, S. H. (2007). English society in the later middle ages: Deference, ambition and conflict. In P. Brown (Ed), A Companion to Medieval English Literature and Culture C. 1350-C.1500 (pp. 25-40). Malden: Blackwell.
  • Ruud, J. (2006). Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature. New York: Facts on File.
  • Salisbury, E. (2002). Troubling gender and genre in the trials & joys of marriage. Medieval and early modern English studies Association of Korea. International Conference at Seoul National University.
  • Seal, S. K. (2014). Pregnant desire: Eyes and appetites in the Merchant’s Tale. The Chaucer Review, 48(3), 284-306.
  • Shahar, S. (1983). The fourth estate: A history of women in the Middle Ages. New York: Routledge.
  • Sigal, G. (1996). Erotic dawn-songs of the Middle Ages: Voicing the lyric lady. Gainesville: UP of Florida.
  • St. Augustine. (1982). The literal meaning of genesis. J. H. Taylor (Trans.). Vol. 2. New York: Newman Press. The Holy Bible. King James Version. Red Letter Edition. Kaduna: Evangel Publishers.
  • Whitaker, M. (1995). Roles of women in Middle English literature. In M. Whitaker (Ed), Sovereign lady: Essays on women in Middle English literature (pp. xi-xviii). New York: Garland.
  • White, S. M. (1982) Sexual language and human conflict in Old French Fabliaux. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 24(2), 185-210.
  • Woods, W. F. (2008). Chaucerian spaces: Spatial poetics in Chaucer’s Opening Tales. Albany: State U of New York Press.

Tüccar’ın Hikayesi’nde Direniş Figürü olarak May

Year 2021, Volume: 38 Issue: 2, 548 - 561, 15.12.2021
https://doi.org/10.32600/huefd.888264

Abstract

Orta Çağ İngiliz edebiyatının popüler bir türü olan fabliyö, yaşlı bir adamla evli olan genç bir kadının kocasını aldatışını anlatan kısa, müstehcen ve komik hikayedir. Geoffrey Chaucer, Canterbury Hikayeleri’ne, January’nin genç karısı May’in evlilik dışı ilişkisini konu edinen Tüccar’ın Hikayesi’ni fabliyö olarak dahil eder. May’in şehvet düşkünü ve kocasını aldatan bir kadın olarak tasviri fabliyönun tür olarak antifeminist olduğu iddialarını güçlendirse de aynı zamanda, May’in fabliyödaki olaylara aktif katılımı ona bir kadın olarak ikincil konumunu alt üst etme ve kendini yeniden tanımlama gücü de verir. May, John Fiske’in popüler kültür kuramında belirtilen egemen ideolojinin gücünü kendi lehine kullanan ve ideolojinin gücüne maruz kalmasına rağmen, bu gücün kaynaklarını kullanarak muhalif anlamlar ve zevkler üretebilen bir kadındır. Aslında, May güçsüzlerin taktiklerini ve hilekar oyunlarını yasak ilişkisini sürdürebilmek, bedeni ve kullandığı mekanlar üzerinde kısmi yetkinlik elde etmek için kullanır. John Fiske’in popüler kültür kuramı bağlamında, bu makale May’in egemen yapılara karşı direnişini irdeleyerek, onun ikincil konumunu savuşturan, bunu güçsüzün hile, taktik ve kurnazlıklarından faydalanarak kendi lehine dönüştüren bir direniş figürü olarak analiz eder.

References

  • Bloch, H. R. (1987). Medieval misogyny. Representations, 1(20). 1-24.
  • Bloch, H. R. (1986). The Scandal of the Fabliaux. Chicago: U of Chicago Press.
  • Butler, S. M. (2006). Runaway wives: Husband desertion in medieval England. Journal of Social History, 40(2), 337-359.
  • Chaucer, G. (2008). The Merchant’s Tale. In L. Benson (Ed.), The Riverside Chaucer. Oxford: Oxford UP.
  • de Certeau, M. (1988). The Practice of everyday life. S. Rendall (Trans.), London: U of California Press.
  • Ellis, D. S. (1990). The Merchant’s Wife’s Tale: Language, sex, and commerce in Margery Kempe and in Chaucer. Exemplaria 2 (2), 595-626.
  • Ferrante, J. (1988). Public postures and private maneuvers: Roles medieval women play. In M. Erler and M. Kowaleski (Eds.), Women and Power in the Middle Ages (pp. 213-229). London: The U of Georgia Press.
  • Fiske, J. (1991a). Understanding popular culture. London and New York: Routledge.
  • Fiske, J. (1991b). Reading the popular. London and New York: Routledge.
  • Hanawalt, B. A. (1998). Medieval English women in rural and urban domestic space. Dumbartan Oaks Papers, 52, 19-26.
  • Hines, J. (1993). The Fabliau in English. London: Longman.
  • Horowitz, M. C. (1975). Aristotle and woman. In Science and Woman (pp. 183-213). Atlanta.
  • Johnson, L. (1983). Women on top: Antifeminism in the Fabliaux? The Modern Language Review. Modern Humanities Research Association, 78(2), 298-307.
  • Kaufman, A. S. (2017). Fabliau. In S. Echard and R. Rouse (Eds.), The Encyclopaedia of Medieval Literature in Britain (pp. 1-7). John Wiley & Sons.
  • Karras, R. M. (2005). Sexuality in medieval Europe: Doing unto others. New York: Routledge.
  • Kohler, M. (2004). Vision, logic, and the comic production of reality in the “Merchant’s Tale” and two French Fabliaux. The Chaucer Review, 39(2), 137-150.
  • Ladd, A. (1975). Classifications of the Fabliaux by plot structure. Proceedings of the International Colloquium. (pp. 23-25). Glasgow, University of Glasgow.
  • Laskaya, A. (1995). Chaucer’s Approach to gender in the Canterbury Tales. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer.
  • Lefebvre, H. (1991). Production of space. Donald Nicholson-Smith (Trans.). Malden: Blackwell Publishing. “misogyny.” Oxford English Dictionary. (2021). Oxford Dictionaries. Retrieved from www.oxforddictionaries.com/definiton/english/misogyny?q=Misogyny.
  • Murray, J. (1995). Thinking about gender: The diversity of medieval perspectives. In J. Carpenter and S. Maclean (Eds.), Power of the Weak: Studies on Medieval Women (pp. 1-26). Chicago: U. of Illinois Press.
  • Perfetti, L. (2006). The Lewd and the Ludic: Female pleasure in the Fabliaux. In H. A. Crocker (Ed.), Comic Provocations: Exposing the Corpus of Old French Fabliaux (pp. 17-31). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Reis, H. (2005). Adem’in bilmediği, Havva’nın gör dediği: Ortaçağda Türk ve İngiliz kadın yazarlar. Ankara: Dörtbay.
  • Reis, H. (2012). Chaucer’s Fabliau women: Paradigms of resistance and pleasure. Hacettepe University Journal of Faculty of Letters, 28(2), 123-135.
  • Reis, H. (2013). Chaucer and the representation of old age. Ankara: Ürün.
  • Rigby, S. H. (2007). English society in the later middle ages: Deference, ambition and conflict. In P. Brown (Ed), A Companion to Medieval English Literature and Culture C. 1350-C.1500 (pp. 25-40). Malden: Blackwell.
  • Ruud, J. (2006). Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature. New York: Facts on File.
  • Salisbury, E. (2002). Troubling gender and genre in the trials & joys of marriage. Medieval and early modern English studies Association of Korea. International Conference at Seoul National University.
  • Seal, S. K. (2014). Pregnant desire: Eyes and appetites in the Merchant’s Tale. The Chaucer Review, 48(3), 284-306.
  • Shahar, S. (1983). The fourth estate: A history of women in the Middle Ages. New York: Routledge.
  • Sigal, G. (1996). Erotic dawn-songs of the Middle Ages: Voicing the lyric lady. Gainesville: UP of Florida.
  • St. Augustine. (1982). The literal meaning of genesis. J. H. Taylor (Trans.). Vol. 2. New York: Newman Press. The Holy Bible. King James Version. Red Letter Edition. Kaduna: Evangel Publishers.
  • Whitaker, M. (1995). Roles of women in Middle English literature. In M. Whitaker (Ed), Sovereign lady: Essays on women in Middle English literature (pp. xi-xviii). New York: Garland.
  • White, S. M. (1982) Sexual language and human conflict in Old French Fabliaux. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 24(2), 185-210.
  • Woods, W. F. (2008). Chaucerian spaces: Spatial poetics in Chaucer’s Opening Tales. Albany: State U of New York Press.
There are 34 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Literary Studies, Literary Theory, Creative Arts and Writing
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Azime Pekşen Yakar 0000-0002-5727-813X

Publication Date December 15, 2021
Submission Date February 28, 2021
Acceptance Date August 9, 2021
Published in Issue Year 2021 Volume: 38 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Pekşen Yakar, A. (2021). May as a Figure of Resistance in the Merchant’s Tale. Hacettepe Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, 38(2), 548-561. https://doi.org/10.32600/huefd.888264


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