Female Gender Stereotypes and Inequality within Ursula Vernon’s Jackalope Wives and David K. Yeh’s Cottage Country

Historically, fairy tales attempt to bring forth issues of femininity, typically surrounding domestic violence, oppression, as well as unequal gender relations. This paper attempts to utilize Ursula Vernon’s Jackalope Wives, as well as David K. Yeh’s Cottage Country to exemplify the ways in which modern fairy tales conform and reject previous notions of what it means to be a woman within fantasy. Furthermore, through analyzing content presented within both texts, this paper acknowledges their differing, yet failed attempts to abolish gendered stereotypes within literature, raising concern as to whether such social issues are so easily overcome

Victorian Influence on \u3cem\u3eBeauty and the Beast\u3c/em\u3e

This essay examines a unique publication of the well-known Beauty and the Beast fairy tale. W.B. Conkey Company’s adaptation of Beauty and the Beast demonstrates the influence of Victorian culture on children’s literature (1897). An in-depth analysis of the cultural and historical context of the publication uncovers new meaning in the lost text. This three-part analysis discusses norms of Victorian courtship, explains Victorian literary elements, and applies these cultural contexts to textual analysis. This lens highlights W.B. Conkey Company’s tailored message to a young Victorian audience

Eros and Pilgrimage in Chaucer’s and Shakespeare’s Poetry

The paper discusses erotic desire and the motif of going on pilgrimage in the opening of Geoffrey Chaucer’s General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales and in William Shakespeare’s sonnets. What connects most of the texts chosen for consideration in the paper is their diptych-like composition, corresponding to the dual theme of eros and pilgrimage. At the outset, I read the first eighteen lines of Chaucer’s Prologue and demonstrate how the passage attempts to balance and reconcile the eroticism underlying the description of nature at springtime with Christian devotion and the spirit of compunction. I support the view that the passage is the first wing of a diptych-like construction opening the General Prologue. The second part of the paper focuses on the motif of pilgrimage, particularly erotic pilgrimage, in Shakespeare’s sonnets. I observe that most of the sonnets that exploit the conceit of travel to the beloved form lyrical diptychs. Shakespeare reverses the medieval hierarchy of pilgrimage and desire espoused by Chaucer. Both poets explore and use to their own ends the tensions inherent in the juxtaposition of sacred and profane love. Their compositions encode deeper emotional patterns of desire: Chaucer’s narrator channels sexual drives into the route of communal national penance, whereas the Shakespearean persona employs religious sentiments in the service of private erotic infatuations

Chaucer\u27s Nether Ye : A Study of Chaucer\u27s Use of Scatology in The Canterbury Tales

Chaucer\u27s use of scatology throughout the Canterbury Tales offers a new frontier for Chaucerian research. To this date, no book-length work dealing exclusively with the scatological elements found in his works exists. Too often, the serious and artistic effects of scatology become lost in the great comedy the device generates. Furthermore, many readers and scholars seem to find themselves somewhat squaymous when confronted with the nether ye of Chaucer. While Chaucer employs scatology perhaps less frequently than Swift or Rabelais, his mastery of this device remains unquestionable. Recognizing that the uses for scatology extend far beyond creating humor, Chaucer instead proves that the effects achieved with this device are multidimensional. This study focuses upon three tales quite heterogeneous in nature: the Summoner\u27s Tale, the Miller\u27s Tale, and the Prioress\u27 Tale. Though different in many respects, these tales contain scatological elements that effectively show the range with which Chaucer used scatology. In the Summoner\u27s Tale and the Miller\u27s Tale, Chaucer develops both the characters and the plot around the scatological scenes. He also employs scatology to emphasize the theme of just rewards. In doing so, he relies heavily upon biblical parallels that satirize the characters\u27 hypocrisy. In the Summoner\u27s Tale, Friar John loses sight of his spiritual goals and seeks wealth and social prominence. He boasts of his order\u27s association with the Holy Ghost and neglects the symbolic body of Christ, His people. For his neglect and his verbal flatulence, Friar John is rewarded with a fart and public humiliation. Both the fart and the subsequent cartwheel scheme are developed into a brilliant satire that ridicules the foundations of the entire mendicant order. Furthermore, Friar John\u27s anger complements the Summoner\u27s anger, revealing that both display a perverted sense of charity and grace. The Miller\u27s Tale also focuses upon a wayward religious figure. Like Friar John, Absolon shows a confusion of body and spirit. Obsessed with sensual pleasure, Absolon is a slave to his senses. That Absolon has lost sight of any spiritual goal is made clear when he swears an oath to the devil and seeks revenge. He also abuses his position in the church to satisfy his vanity and his sensual desires. In this tale, Chaucer uses language that calls to mind the Parson\u27s warnings to wayward clergymen. Alluding to gold, shiten shepherds, and sheep, Chaucer reveals that Absolon is the type of spiritual leader that the Parson warned about in the General Prologue. For worshipping his senses, Absolon is rewarded with two scatological tricks that effectively punish all five of his senses. As in the Summoner\u27s Tale, Chaucer shows that the rewards for seeking earthly goals are not only insignificant but sometimes scatological. In the Prioress\u27 Tale, Chaucer handles scatology differently for a remarkable effect. In this tale, scatology becomes dark in order to elevate the effect of the miracle. Though entombed in excrement, the child rises to a divine level because of his adherence to Christian principles. Resembling the alimentary canal, the city\u27s alley represents the journey from life into the afterlife. In order to escape life\u27s excrement, one must hold fast to Christian virtues and keep sight of the Jerusalem celestial. Showing that life can spring from dung, the little boy is blessed with the miracle because he has kept sight of his spiritual goal and has not cast his eyes downward. Just as the Canterbury Tales concludes with the Parson\u27s Tale, this study also ends with a focus upon this tale. In the Parson\u27s Tale, Chaucer\u27s view of salvation becomes clear. Sincere, humble penitence is the right path to salvation. The Parson\u27s Tale reminds the reader that the Canterbury Tales involves a spiritual journey, not just a physical journey. In this treatise, the Parson states that many are the paths that lead to glory. Likewise, many are the ways of exposing hypocrisy. Chaucer puts the different views of his characters into proper perspective and shows that divine rewards are achievable if one holds firm to Christian principles. He also shows that the rewards of earthly pursuits are not only ephemeral, but sometimes scatological

Chaucer\u27s Nether Ye : A Study of Chaucer\u27s Use of Scatology in The Canterbury Tales

Chaucer\u27s use of scatology throughout the Canterbury Tales offers a new frontier for Chaucerian research. To this date, no book-length work dealing exclusively with the scatological elements found in his works exists. Too often, the serious and artistic effects of scatology become lost in the great comedy the device generates. Furthermore, many readers and scholars seem to find themselves somewhat squaymous when confronted with the nether ye of Chaucer. While Chaucer employs scatology perhaps less frequently than Swift or Rabelais, his mastery of this device remains unquestionable. Recognizing that the uses for scatology extend far beyond creating humor, Chaucer instead proves that the effects achieved with this device are multidimensional. This study focuses upon three tales quite heterogeneous in nature: the Summoner\u27s Tale, the Miller\u27s Tale, and the Prioress\u27 Tale. Though different in many respects, these tales contain scatological elements that effectively show the range with which Chaucer used scatology. In the Summoner\u27s Tale and the Miller\u27s Tale, Chaucer develops both the characters and the plot around the scatological scenes. He also employs scatology to emphasize the theme of just rewards. In doing so, he relies heavily upon biblical parallels that satirize the characters\u27 hypocrisy. In the Summoner\u27s Tale, Friar John loses sight of his spiritual goals and seeks wealth and social prominence. He boasts of his order\u27s association with the Holy Ghost and neglects the symbolic body of Christ, His people. For his neglect and his verbal flatulence, Friar John is rewarded with a fart and public humiliation. Both the fart and the subsequent cartwheel scheme are developed into a brilliant satire that ridicules the foundations of the entire mendicant order. Furthermore, Friar John\u27s anger complements the Summoner\u27s anger, revealing that both display a perverted sense of charity and grace. The Miller\u27s Tale also focuses upon a wayward religious figure. Like Friar John, Absolon shows a confusion of body and spirit. Obsessed with sensual pleasure, Absolon is a slave to his senses. That Absolon has lost sight of any spiritual goal is made clear when he swears an oath to the devil and seeks revenge. He also abuses his position in the church to satisfy his vanity and his sensual desires. In this tale, Chaucer uses language that calls to mind the Parson\u27s warnings to wayward clergymen. Alluding to gold, shiten shepherds, and sheep, Chaucer reveals that Absolon is the type of spiritual leader that the Parson warned about in the General Prologue. For worshipping his senses, Absolon is rewarded with two scatological tricks that effectively punish all five of his senses. As in the Summoner\u27s Tale, Chaucer shows that the rewards for seeking earthly goals are not only insignificant but sometimes scatological. In the Prioress\u27 Tale, Chaucer handles scatology differently for a remarkable effect. In this tale, scatology becomes dark in order to elevate the effect of the miracle. Though entombed in excrement, the child rises to a divine level because of his adherence to Christian principles. Resembling the alimentary canal, the city\u27s alley represents the journey from life into the afterlife. In order to escape life\u27s excrement, one must hold fast to Christian virtues and keep sight of the Jerusalem celestial. Showing that life can spring from dung, the little boy is blessed with the miracle because he has kept sight of his spiritual goal and has not cast his eyes downward. Just as the Canterbury Tales concludes with the Parson\u27s Tale, this study also ends with a focus upon this tale. In the Parson\u27s Tale, Chaucer\u27s view of salvation becomes clear. Sincere, humble penitence is the right path to salvation. The Parson\u27s Tale reminds the reader that the Canterbury Tales involves a spiritual journey, not just a physical journey. In this treatise, the Parson states that many are the paths that lead to glory. Likewise, many are the ways of exposing hypocrisy. Chaucer puts the different views of his characters into proper perspective and shows that divine rewards are achievable if one holds firm to Christian principles. He also shows that the rewards of earthly pursuits are not only ephemeral, but sometimes scatological

\u3cem\u3eThe Chronicles of Narnia\u3c/em\u3e, and How C.S. Lewis Created Christian Fantasy Fiction

C.S. Lewis was a pioneer in combining the ideas of fantasy and Christian literature, before the fantasy genre alone was even acknowledged. Christian fantasy fiction, as a fiction sub-genre, can be identified as a piece of fiction with fantastical mythology and themes, with the addition of imagery and values drawn from the Christian tradition. Christian fantasy fiction attempts to use the mystical plot elements from fantasy, with recognizable Christian ideals, and meld them in such a way that they actually reinforce each other. This thesis explains how C.S. Lewis used this new genre to allow readers of all ages to understand spiritually abstract ideas

Storytelling, women's authority and the 'Old-Wife's Tale': 'The Story of the Bottle of Medicine'

The focus of this article is a single personal narrative – a Shetland woman’s telling of a story about two girls on a journey to fetch a cure for a sick relative from a wise woman. The story is treated as a cultural document which offers the historian a conduit to a past that is respectful of indigenous woman-centred interpretations of how that past was experienced and understood. The ‘story of the bottle of medicine’ is more than a skilful telling of a local tale; it is a memory practice that provides a path to a deeper and more nuanced understanding of a culture. Applying perspectives from anthropology, oral history and narrative analysis, three sets of questions are addressed: the issue of authenticity; the significance of the narrative structure and storytelling strategies employed; and the nature of the female performance. Ultimately the article asks what this story can tell us about women’s interpretation of their own history

Sharing Traditional and Contemporary Literature with Deaf Children

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