Medieval Literature Gender and Sexuality Term Paper

A wife of bad character,

Who takes delight in always quarrelling,

Brings her husband premature old age;

So a man who seeks his own happiness,

Should not even mention the name

Of such a wicked woman. Women are very peculiar,

They never say what they have on their minds

or on the tips of their tongues

And what they do is always contrary to what they say.

Those who are drawn to women. By their enchanting appearances,

Are destroyed, like moths in a flame." (Panchantantra, the Story of the Donkey and the Washerman).

Throughout the Panchantra, there are similar references to women and their treachery. There are few references to women that portray them in a positive light.

Conclusion

There are vast similarities among the women portrayed in Boccacio and those portrayed in the Panchantantra. There are also clues that this is a decidedly male perspective. Boccacio gives us clues through the narrator. The Panchantantra tells us through third person references to women. It is also easy to discern a male author by the content. It is unlikely that a woman would write of women in such a manner.

The real question is whether these references reflect societal views of women, or if they are simply the opinion of the author. In order to analyze this question, one must look at the entire body of work during the time period. When one examines Boccacio, there are only a few references that are an explicit and straightforward as Boccacio. Most references are more subtle. Boccacio may have intentionally written in the manner that he did for shock value.

However, the Panchantantra is strong evidence that these attitudes prevailed in society. The sheer number of references found in the Panchantantra are evidence that this is what men thought of women. The Panchantantra is from multiple authors and changed over the years through the various cultures that translated it. Given this evidence, it is difficult to dismiss Boccacios' work as a mere fantasy. Although other writings did not take the direct approach found in Boccacio, the references are still there and cannot be ignored.

Works Cited

Boccaccio, Giovanni. The Decameron. Trans G.H. McWilliam. New York: Penguin, 1972.

Brundage, James a. Law, Sex, and Christian Society in Medieval Europe. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1987.

Salisbury, Joyce E. "Gendered Sexuality." Handbook of Medieval Sexuality. Vern L. Bullough and James a. Brundage, eds. New York: Garland, 1996, pp. 81-102.

Visnu Sarma, the Panachatantra translated from the…