Patterns of Feminine and Masculine Persuasion in the 'Melibee' and the 'Parson's Tale'

Author / Editor
Cowgill, Jane.

Title
Patterns of Feminine and Masculine Persuasion in the 'Melibee' and the 'Parson's Tale'

Published
C. David Benson and Elizabeth Robertson, eds. Chaucer's Religious Tales (Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1990). pp. 171-83.

Description
Like MLT, SNT, ClT, and WBT, Mel employs a feminine style of persuasion. Prudence "demonstrates" the values she counsels her husband to abide by, thus adding actions to arguments as means of persuasion and subverting the male hierarchy. ParsT, by contrast, employs a masculine style of persuasion seen also in PardT and SumT.
Male teachers such as the Parson--imbued with the authority of the institutions they represent--are not required to demonstrate the virtues jthey advocate or to identify with their audiences.

Alternative Title
Chaucer's Religious Tales.

Chaucer Subjects
Canterbury Tales--General.
Parson and His Tale.
Tale of Melibee.