Reincarnations of Griselda: Contexts for the 'Clerk's Tale'

Author / Editor
Johnson, Lesley.

Title
Reincarnations of Griselda: Contexts for the 'Clerk's Tale'

Published
Ruth Evans and Lesley Johnson, eds. Feminist Readings in Middle English Literature: The Wife of Bath and All Her Sect (London and New York: Routledge, 1994), pp. 195-220.

Description
Literary and historical contexts modify the presentation of the Griselda story in its many versions, reflecting a broad range of views on women and marriage. Chaucer's version raises questions about the exemplary value of Griselda in religious and political contexts, challenging the way her story had traditionaly been told. Nonetheless, the responses of the Host and the Merchant contribute to her "continuing life" as "an icon of the ideal wife."

Alternative Title
Feminist Readings in Middle English Literature: The Wife of Bath and All Her Sect.

Chaucer Subjects
Clerk and His Tale.