Women and Laughter in Medieval Comic Literature

Description: Explores literary representations of women's laughter from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries and examines the contexts that shaped how women told jokes. The Wife of Bath's use of play coincides with Chaucer's own, dramatizing antifeminism as a game; blurring lines between masculine and feminine, authority and experience; and attacking the premise beneath her discourse. Chaucer's presentation invites women to respond with laughter and join the game. Perfetti assesses WBPT and BD.