Donald Trump’s non-ending falsehoods have sometimes been described as “gaslighting,” after the old Charles Boyer-Ingrid Bergman film. An early literary example of a gaslighter is Chaucer’s Wife of Bath, although her use of the tactic is far more justifiable.
Tag Archives: Wife of Bath
The Wife of Bath & U.S. Race Wars
A racial flair-up at our college has given me an opportunity to stress the relevance of the Wife of Bath’s prologue and tale. Like our African American students, she too feels disrespected. One has to dig beneath her seeming confidence to realize how vulnerable she feels, however.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Confederate flag, Geoffrey Chaucer, microaggressions, racism Comments closed
The V-Word: Casting Hillary as Duessa
The rightwing attacks on female sexuality have a long tradition, going back to Pliny the Elder, and include Chaucer, Spenser, and Milton. Expect the tradition to continue if Hillary Clinton is elected president.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Canterbury Tales, Faerie Queene, Geoffrey Chaucer, Hillary Clinton, Merchant's Tale, misogyny, Wife of Bath's Prologue Comments closed
Old Lit as a Transformational Experience
The power of a “King Lear” passage is a refutation of Scott Walker’s attempt to redirect higher education to “work force needs.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged culture wars, Geoffrey Chaucer, King Lear, Ronald Reagan, Scott Walker, state university system, Williams Shakespeare Comments closed
Warning Labels for the Classics
Suggestions that certain classics come with “trigger warnings” leads of the following reflection.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged censorship, Geoffrey Chaucer, Homer, Iliad, Importance of Being Earnest, John Milton, Oscar Wilde, Paradise Lost, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Comments closed
Lit’s 10 Most Painful Marriage Proposals
Literature 10 most painful marriage proposals.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Beggar's Opera, Charlotte Bronte, Daniel Defoe, Far from the Madding Crowd, Geoffrey Chaucer, Importance of Being Earnest, Jane Austen, Jane Eyre, John Gay, Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, Marriage, marriage proposals, Moll Flanders, Oscar Wilde, Pride and Prejudice, Thomas Hardy Comments closed
Lit’s 10 Strongest Female Characters
Who are literature’s ten strongest female characters? Here’s my list.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged As You Like It, Charlotte Bronte, Daneil Defoe, Doll's House, Geoffrey Chaucer, Henrik Ibsen, Henry James, Jane Austen, Jane Eyre, Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, Mansfield Park, Moll Flanders, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Portrait of a Lady, Scarlet Letter, William Shakespeare Comments closed
