Chaucer's Tandem Romances: A Generic Approach to the 'Wife of Bath's Tale' as Palinode

Author / Editor
Meyer, Robert J.

Title
Chaucer's Tandem Romances: A Generic Approach to the 'Wife of Bath's Tale' as Palinode

Published
Chaucer Review 18 (1984): 221-38.

Description
Structural unity is achieved by the back-to-back romances in the tale, the first a mock quest, the second a narrative that asks what men most desire (gentility, youth, beauty). The Midas exemplum and the pillow talk of gentility are integral parts of this ambivalent narrative.

Chaucer Subjects
Wife of Bath and Her Tale.