Madness and Gender in Late-Medieval Literature.
- Author/Editor
- Jose, Laura.
- Title
- Madness and Gender in Late-Medieval Literature.
- Published
- Jose, Laura. "Madness and Gender in Late-Medieval Literature." Ph.D. diss. Durham University, 2010. Supervisor: Corinne Saunders. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/217/
- Review
- Jose's abstract is as follows: "This thesis discusses presentations of madness in medieval literature, and the ways in which these presentations are affected by (and effect) ideas of gender. It includes a discussion of madness as it is commonly presented in classical literature and medical texts, as well as an examination of demonic possession (which shares many of the same characteristics of madness) in medieval exempla. These chapters are followed by a detailed look at the uses of madness in Malory's "Morte Darthur," Gower's "Confessio Amantis," and in two autobiographical accounts of madness, the "Book of Margery Kempe" and Hoccleve's "Series." The experience of madness can both subvert and reinforce gender roles. Madness is commonly seen as an invasion of the self, which, in a culture which commonly identifies masculinity with bodily intactness, can prove problematic for male sufferers. Equally, madness, in prompting violent, ungoverned behaviour, can undermine traditional definitions of femininity. These rules can, however, be reversed. Malory's "Morte Darthur" presents a version of masculinity which is actually enhanced by madness; equally divergent is Margery Kempe's largely positive account of madness as a catalyst for personal transformation. While there is a certain consistency in the literary treatment of madness--motifs and images are repeated across genres--the way in which these images are used can alter radically. There is no single model of madness in medieval literature: rather, it is always fluid. Madness, like gender, remains open to interpretation." Chapter 5, pp. 180-218, is on Gower--CA primarily, with occasional reference to VC. She summarizes her argument thusly: "There is no one unifying pattern of madness in the 'Confessio Amantis,' as we have seen with other authors: rather, madness occurs in a number of different, but interconnected, ways. Gower, unique among the authors I examine, uses madness primarily as a political metaphor. However, this use quickly becomes intertwined with those other connotations of madness: bestiality, unrestrained sexuality, gender slippage. If the 'Confessio Amantis' is a hybrid text, part confession, part mirror for princes, part collection of exempla, then Gower's uses of madness are a fitting match for this hybridity" (180). [RFY. eJGN 39.2]
- Date
- 2010