1. THE WOMAN DURING THE MIDDLE AGES

2.  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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. There were different kind of women

7.  The wife The wife  The nun The nun  The businnes woman The businnes woman

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

9. 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

10. Wife of the landed gentleman She was busy managing her household

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

12. 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

13. THE MEDIEVAL WOMAN IN CHAUCER’S Prologue

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

15. 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

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

17. THE MOTHER Interested only of the hineritance

18. THE END FRANCESCA FONTANA TERESA TURCO ARIANNA ZANCHIN