Affective Politics in Chaucer's Reeve's Tale: 'Cherl' Masculinity After 1381

Description: By "acknowledging and exploiting the affections of [its] female characters," RvT "fashions a masculine collective." By excluding Symkyn from this collective, the Tale demonstrates that "cherl" identity after the uprising of 1381 was ethically and politically "limited." RvT "issues a call to confront the ethical consequences of affective appeals within their social contexts." Crocker considers gender relations of RvT in light of medieval conduct literature and encourages attention to "affect" in literary criticism.