Description
Book SynopsisNew studies of the problem of medieval masculinity, and Chaucer's treatment of it. Issues relating to the male characters and the construction of masculinities in Chaucer's masterpiece of love found and love lost are explored here. Collectively the essays address the question of what it means to be a man in theMiddle Ages, what constitutes masculinity in this era, and how such masculinities are culturally constructed; they seek to advance scholarly understanding of the themes, characters, and actions of Troilus and Criseyde through thehermeneutics of medieval and modern concepts of manliness. Throughout, they argue that Troilus and the other characters, including Criseyde, are subject to multiple and conflicting interpretations, especially in regard to the intersections of their genders with their sexual performances and their conflicted relationships to generic expectations for gendered conduct. Contributors: JOHN M. BOWERS, MICHAEL CALABRESE, HOLLY A. CROCKER, KATE KOPPELMAN,MOLLY MARTIN, MARCIA SMITH MARZEC, GRETCHEN MIESZKOWSKI, JAMES J. PAXSON, TISON PUGH, R. ALLEN SHOAF, ROBERT S. STURGES, ANGELA JANE WEISL, RICHARD ZEIKOWITZ
Trade ReviewAn important contribution to Chaucer studies, medieval studies, and indeed to gender studies most broadly conceived. * JOURNAL OF ENGLISH AND GERMANIC PHILOLOGY *
Succeeds in making a significant contribution to the field of Chaucerian gender studies in that it demonstrates the sheer multiplicity of relevant topics contained in Troilus and Criseyde. * SIXTEENTH CENTURY JOURNAL *
The twelve essays in this volume cover a significant range of theoretical approaches in addition to masculinity, rendering a multivalent reading of gender and embodiment. * THE MEDIEVAL REVIEW *
Table of ContentsThe Myths of Masculinity in Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde "Beautiful as Troilus": Richard II, Chaucer's Troilus, and Figures of [Un]M asculinity - John M. Bowers The State of Exception and Sovereign Masculinity in Troilus and Criseyde - Robert Sturges Revisiting Troilus's Faint - Gretchen Mieszkowski What Makes a Man? Troilus, Hector, and the Masculinities of Courtly Love - Marcia Smith Marzec Masculinity and Its Hydraulic Semiotics in Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyd e - James J. Paxson Masochism, Masculinity, and the Pleasures of Troilus - Holly Crocker "The Dreams in Which I'm Dying": Sublimation and Unstable Masculinities in Troilus and Criseyde - Kate Koppelman "A Mannes Game": Criseyde's Masculinity in Troilus and Criseyde - Angela Jane Weisl Troilus's Gaze and the Collapse of Masculinity in Romance - Molly A. Martin Sutured Looks and Homoeroticism: Reading Troilus and Pandarus Cinematically - Richard Zeikowitz Being a Man in Piers Plowman and Troilus and Criseyde - "The Monstruosity in love": Sexual Division in Chaucer and Shakespeare - R. Allen Shoaf
