Disabusing Women in the Old French Fabliaux

198 Pages·2008·2.257 MB·English

by  Natalie Muñoz

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles
Disabusing Women in the Old French Fabliaux
A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the
Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
in French and Francophone Studies
by
Natalie Munoz
2008
UMI Number: 3356530
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© Copyright by
Natalie Munoz
2008
The dissertation of Natalie Mufioz is approved.
Malina Stefanwska
Eric Gans, Committee Chair
University of California, Los Angeles
2008
n
To my husband, Bryan, for his patience and love over these long years. To my three boys,
Max, Zane and Aidan, for putting things into perspective. To all my friends and family,
for sharing the burden with me.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 1
Chaper 1
Defending Women 49
Chapter 2
Designing Women 96
Chapter 3
Desiring Women 136
Conclusion
Defining Women 169
Bibliography 176
IV
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
To Eric Gans and Patrick Geary, two gentlemen scholars who encouraged me to finish.
v
VITA
1969 Born, Fresno, California
1993 B.A., French
Second Major: Russian
Magna Cum Laude
California State University, Fresno
Fresno, California
1993 Graduate Research Assistant
Department of French and Francophone Studies
University of California, Los Angeles
1994-1997 Teaching Assistant
Department of French and Francophone Studies
University of California, Los Angeles
1995 M. A., French
Department of French and Francophone Studies
University of California, Los Angeles
1997 Paris Program in Critical Theory
Travel Grant and Fellowship
University of California, Los Angeles
1999 Dissertation Year Fellowship
University of California, Los Angeles
1999-2003 Adjunct Faculty Member
Department of Classical and Modern Languages
California State University, Fresno
2006 Adjunct Faculty Member
University 1 and the Mentoring Center
California State University, Fresno
PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS
Mufioz, Natalie (April, 1999). "Bodies of Knowledge." Paper presented at the UCLA
French and Francophone Studies Graduate Students' Fourth Interdisciplinary
Conference, Los Angeles, California.
VI
—. (1999). "Bodies of Knowledge." Paroles Gelees. 17.2: 91-98.
VII
ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION
Disabusing Women in the Old French Fabliaux
by
Natalie Mufloz
Doctor of Philosophy in French and Francophone Studies
University of California, Los Angeles, 2008
Professor Eric Gans, Chair
The French medieval fabliaux provide a variety of portrayals of female characters that,
until recently, have unfortunately been considered simply misogynistic. The most interesting
thing, the polyvalence of categories, is most often ignored. Fabliaux women cannot be taken as a
unified and univocal group. My discussion of the various types of women in the Old French
Fabliaux and the methods they use to subvert male authority shows that the fabliaux are not as
misogynistic as originally thought.
Fabliaux women admirably serve as critics of medieval institutions, such as courtly love
and knighthood. Rather than describing them in terms of their common characteristics, I will
show that it is more productive to study this group in terms of their agency. The fabliaux women
are not "flat" characters. They perform a number of different roles that define their agency and
their ability to act as subjects. Traditional fabliaux criticism readily notes that women are
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