Esteem Enlivened by Desire: The Couple from Homer to Shakespeare

Author / Editor
Hagstrum, Jean H.

Title
Esteem Enlivened by Desire: The Couple from Homer to Shakespeare

Published
Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1992.

Physical Description
xvi, 518 pp.

Description
A historical assessment of representations of heterosexual love and marriage in the art, myth, and religion of the Western world, concentrating on differing ways in which esteem and desire have been aligned, rationalized, and sanctified.
A brief section (pp. 264-74) explores how Chaucer confronts pagan, orthodox Christian, courtly, and Chartreian views of love and sexuality. The section focuses on KnT, TC, PF, FranT, WBP, and WBT. The Wife, not the Franklin, represents Chaucer's views.

Chaucer Subjects
Background and General Criticism.
Wife of Bath and Her Tale.