Medieval Misogyny and the Invention of Western Romantic LoveUniversity of Chicago Press, Feb 15, 2009 - 308 pages Until now the advent of Western romantic love has been seen as a liberation from—or antidote to—ten centuries of misogyny. In this major contribution to gender studies, R. Howard Bloch demonstrates how similar the ubiquitous antifeminism of medieval times and the romantic idealization of woman actually are. Through analyses of a broad range of patristic and medieval texts, Bloch explores the Christian construction of gender in which the flesh is feminized, the feminine is aestheticized, and aesthetics are condemned in theological terms. Tracing the underlying theme of virginity from the Church Fathers to the courtly poets, Bloch establishes the continuity between early Christian antifeminism and the idealization of woman that emerged in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. In conclusion he explains the likely social, economic, and legal causes for the seeming inversion of the terms of misogyny into those of an idealizing tradition of love that exists alongside its earlier avatar until the current era. This startling study will be of great value to students of medieval literature as well as to historians of culture and gender. |
From inside the book
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Page 3
... discourse with its inevitability . For example , in writing about the Quarrel of the Rose , Blanche Dow tends to assume that what is widespread is eternal , and what is eternal is natural : " It is a recurring quarrel , and is no more ...
... discourse with its inevitability . For example , in writing about the Quarrel of the Rose , Blanche Dow tends to assume that what is widespread is eternal , and what is eternal is natural : " It is a recurring quarrel , and is no more ...
Page 4
... discourse of medieval mi- sogyny . . . . " For only by making such a distinction can one begin to identify not only the obvious forms of misogyny , but the more subtle , invisible man- ifestations of its grand themes , some of which ...
... discourse of medieval mi- sogyny . . . . " For only by making such a distinction can one begin to identify not only the obvious forms of misogyny , but the more subtle , invisible man- ifestations of its grand themes , some of which ...
Page 5
... discourse of misogyny seems so repetitive , is so culturally constant , and seems to lack an internal history . Its purpose - to remove indi- vidual women from the realm of events - depends upon the transformation of woman into a ...
... discourse of misogyny seems so repetitive , is so culturally constant , and seems to lack an internal history . Its purpose - to remove indi- vidual women from the realm of events - depends upon the transformation of woman into a ...
Page 6
... discourse of misogyny in the Middle Ages that the uniformity of its terms furnishes an important link between this period and the present , rendering the topic even more compelling because , as we shall see , such terms still govern ...
... discourse of misogyny in the Middle Ages that the uniformity of its terms furnishes an important link between this period and the present , rendering the topic even more compelling because , as we shall see , such terms still govern ...
Page 7
... discourse of misogyny runs like a vein — Christine's " several chapters or certain sections " of almost every " book on morals ” —throughout medieval literature . Like allegory itself , to which it is peculiarly attracted , antifeminism ...
... discourse of misogyny runs like a vein — Christine's " several chapters or certain sections " of almost every " book on morals ” —throughout medieval literature . Like allegory itself , to which it is peculiarly attracted , antifeminism ...
Contents
1 | |
ONE Molestiae Nuptiarum and the Yahwist Creation | 13 |
TWO Early Christianity and the Estheticization of Gender | 37 |
THREE Devils Gateway and Bride of Christ | 65 |
FOUR The Poetics of Virginity | 93 |
FIVE The Old French Lay and the Myriad Modes of Male Indiscretion | 113 |
Other editions - View all
Medieval Misogyny and the Invention of Western Romantic Love R. Howard Bloch No preview available - 1992 |
Common terms and phrases
according Adam amor Andreas Capellanus antifeminism antifeminist Art of Courtly ascetic asceticism Augustine beautiful Bernart bien Body and Society BRIDE OF CHRIST century chapter Chastelaine de Vergi chastity Chaucer church fathers cited courtly love culture Dame daughter death desire Devil's gateway discourse of misogyny dowry droit Duby early Christian example fabliau female feminine feminism femme flesh Fontevrault Guigemar husband Ibid ideal Ignauré implies Jaufré Rudel Jean Jerome John Chrysostom knight lady language Lanval Laüstic literary literature logic lover lyric Marie de France marriage medieval Middle Ages misogynistic misogyny mother nature paradox Paris patristic Physician's Tale poet poetic Poitou POWER OF WOMEN Press question relation rhetoric Robert d'Arbrissel Roman romantic love Rougemont seen sense sexual social song speak synonymous Tertullian tion topos tradition trans troubadour University virginity wife William IX woman WOMEN TO DISPOSE words writes Yahwist