Archetypal, Stereotypic, Realistic: Images of Women in Middle English Literature

FAIN: FB-12378-75

Maureen H. Fries
SUNY Research Foundation, College at Fredonia (Fredonia, NY 14063-1127)

To study the archetypal, stereotypic, and realistic images of women in Middle English literature. Study will determine the prevalence of the various modes and how they affect the characterization of women. A systematic search will he made of the various genres (romance, lyric, drama, allegory, fabliau) as well as the Church Fathers, the moralists, and Canon Law to provide the necessary socio-historico-cultural backgrounds in an attempt to find the roots of modern attitudes toward women.