The Polarization of the Feminine in Arthurian and Troubadour Literature
- Author / Editor
- MacCurdy, Marian Mesrobian.
The Polarization of the Feminine in Arthurian and Troubadour Literature
- Published
- Dissertation Abstracts International 41 (1980): 2596A.
- Description
- The image of woman is the focal point for the controversy regarding the good or evil nature of the physical world. Early Christian and Gnostic writings, selected troubadour lyrics, "Gawain and the Green Knight," Malory's "Le Morte d'Arthur," and Chaucer's TC demonstrate the polarization of images of the feminine: she is either positively portrayed as a spiritual guide, the source of all worth, or as the demonic temptress who can cause the ruin of entire civilizaations.
- Most of the images that are linked to the physical are negative, and most that help man raise himself out of the physical are positive.
- Chaucer Subjects
- Background and General Criticism.
- Troilus and Criseyde.