THE WOMAN DURING THE MIDDLE AGES

 The cosideration of woman The cosideration of woman  Marriage Marriage  Different kinds of woman Different kinds of woman  The medieval woman in Chaucer’s Prologue The medieval woman in Chaucer’s Prologue

Preamble the Middle Ages privilege dthe religious code At first God generated Adam and later he generated Eve from an Adam’s rib Women were inferior of men

Eve tented Adam Women are tempters, devilish and a source of perdition for men Women had to be controlled and leoded Women were totally dominated by the male members of their family Women were expected to obey

Marriage the most important event in a woman’s life The choice of the husband was made by the family usually on economic grounds Once married She was considered her husband’s property and she had to bear children

There were different kind of women

 The wife The wife  The nun The nun  The businnes woman The businnes woman

Paesant’s wife Her life was really hard Silvestro Lega, Portrait of a countrywoman She shared her husband’s work in the fields

Wife of a merchant When towns began to grow in size and echonomic importance merchants began to prosper The wife was often his businnes partner

Wife of the landed gentleman She was busy managing her household

Nun They were unmarriagiable daughter (expecially in the upper classes) They had a good education

Businnes woman  They were emancipated;  They became more active in the workikg life of the cities;  They were indipendent;  They didn’t follow the status quo. The wife of Bath

THE MEDIEVAL WOMAN IN CHAUCER’S Prologue

THE DIFFERENT FIGURES OF WOMEN THE WIFE THE BRIDE THE MOTHER THE PRIORESS

THE WIFE OF BATH –married woman who belongs to the middle class –“Bold was her face, and handsome; florid too”; “she was gap-toothed” –“no doubt she knew of all the cures for love, for at that game she was a past mistress”; “in company how she could laugh and joke!”; THE PRIORESS –Religious woman –“attactive lady; well shaped nose; beautiful blue-grey eyes; very small and red tender mouth” –“her greatest pleasure was in etiquette; most daintly she’d reach for what she ate; …in order to be thought a person well deserving” SOCIAL STATUS PHYSICAL APPEARANCE RELATIONS WITH OTHER PEOPLE

THE WIFETHE PRIORESS Realistic woman, not husband’s property Ideal woman who comes near the stereotype of the Madonna

THE MOTHER Interested only of the hineritance

THE END FRANCESCA FONTANA TERESA TURCO ARIANNA ZANCHIN