The Wife of Bath, the Franklin, and the Rhetoric of St. Jerome

Author / Editor
Wimsatt, James I.

Title
The Wife of Bath, the Franklin, and the Rhetoric of St. Jerome

Published
Juliette Dor, ed. A Wyf Ther Was: Essays in Honour of Paule Mertens-Fonck (Liege: University of Liege, 1992), pp. 275-81.

Description
The Wife of Bath's argument against Jerome's stance on virginity resembles Jerome's argument against Jovinian; Dorigen in FranT contemplates suicide, recommended by Jerome over the loss of chastity. Chaucer's use of Jerome illustrates Bakhtinian dialogism, allowing characters to "speak with full force" and leaving the reader "to decide where justice lies."

Alternative Title
Wyf Ther Was.

Chaucer Subjects
Wife of Bath and her Tale.
Franklin and His Tale.