Date of Graduation
5-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in English (MA)
Degree Level
Graduate
Department
English
Advisor/Mentor
Long, Mary
Committee Member
Walsh, Lora
Second Committee Member
Quinn, William
Keywords
affect; Chaucer; conduct guides; matricentric feminism; matricentrism; motherhood studies
Abstract
This thesis uses concepts of matricentrism and affect to examine the legacy of Job and its frequent medieval allusions in stories featuring grieving mothers. It specifically analyzes how, in order to be considered noble, steadfast sufferers, women were expected to relinquish their maternal grief and adopt a stoic affect. This was often to the benefit of or in the direct service of their husbands. The analysis covers three women in particular: Job’s wife (who is examined through the medieval commentary written about her), Prudence from Chaucer’s "Tale of Melibee," and Griselda from Chaucer’s "Clerk’s Tale." This thesis utilizes medieval conduct guides to illustrate the standards of devotion, self-denial, and submission that wives were held to from the early to late Middle Ages and how, even through grief, they were expected to adhere to these standards.
Citation
Lee, M. (2026). Dutiful Wife, Grieving Mother: Examining Medieval Joban Allusion Through a Matricentric Affective Lens. Graduate Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/6160
