SUMMERS, KAREN CRADY, Ph.D. Reading Incest - The University ...

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91 And in the derke forthe sche goth, Til sche him toucheth, and he wroth, And after hire with his honde He smot: and thus whan sche him fond Desesed, courtaisly sche saide, “Avoi, mi lord, I am a maide, And if ye wiste what I am, And out of what lignage I cam, Ye wolde noght be so salvage.” . . . And yit the fader ate last His herte upon this maide caste, That he hire loveth kindley, And yit he wiste nevere why. (Confessio Amantis VIII.1691-1708) Instinctively Apollonius feels an attraction for the girl and loves her, but, importantly, he is naturally repelled by the possibility of any physical, sexual contact. This repulsion demonstrates his innate decency and propriety, characteristics of a good king. <strong>The</strong> scene is greatly abridged in Pericles: I am a maid, My lord, that ne'er before invited eyes, . . . My derivation was from ancestors Who stood equivalent with mighty kings: . . . (PERICLES) My fortunes--parentage--good parentage-- To equal mine!--was it not thus? what say you? (MARINA) I said, my lord, if you did know my parentage, You would not do me violence. (Pericles V.1.85-101 italics mine) Marina speaks as if she had suffered a physical attack, but violence had not been threatened here, nor had there been any physical contact between them. Recognition
92 comes not from an instinctive application of kynde but instead from Marina’s resemblance to her mother and especially through her telling of riddles. Archibald notes that “the ability to solve riddles has always been the supreme sign of royalty—incest not only the first sin, but also the first riddle” (24). Riddles are ways to teach and to demonstrate education: they may also disguise a potentially dangerous commentary or critique, as in the opening riddle scene common to all redactions of the Apollonius story. Riddles “have a fundamental association with incest and endogamy” (Archibald 24); the prototypical incest tale, Oedipus Rex, is the prime example of this. But there is a significant difference in the story of the riddle between Gower’s version and Shakespeare’s. Gower portrays the incest as the father’s rape of his daughter but Shakespeare implies the daughter’s willing participation. Gower’s Antiochus speaks the riddle to Apollonius: With felonie I am upbore, I ete and have it noght forbore Mi modres fleissh, whos housebonde Mi fader forto seche I fonde, Which is the Sone ek of my wif (Confessio Amantis VIII.405-409) Though Antiochus is speaking, he does so in the persona of the daughter. In Shakespeare’s play, Pericles himself reads the riddle, again crafted in the “I” of the daughter’s voice: I am no viper, yet I feed On mother's flesh which did me breed. I sought a husband, in which labour I found that kindness in a father: He's father, son, and husband mild;
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SUMMERS, KAREN CRADY, Ph.D. Reading
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READING INCEST: TYRANNY, SUBVERSION
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APPROVAL PAGE This dissertation has
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER I. R
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2 of it, despite its familiarity to
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4 about incest was influenced by th
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6 clarification. Pope Gregory II ad
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8 sibling, and mother-son. 2 She no
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10 is viewed by both. Incest in eig
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12 subverts both the social and the
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14 CHAPTER II ‘SWICHE UNKYNDE ABH
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16 a book to each of the seven dead
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18 Richard” (111). The dedication
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20 an idea familiar to Gower’s me
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22 laboring-folk and Piers, in retu
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24 introduction of Amans, the unsuc
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26 learns. Augustine takes up the i
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28 of the king, whose primary duty
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30 bribed two priests to convince P
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32 story of incest implied, averted
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34 Again, her response impassions h
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36 in the most extreme sense. When
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38 in the first book, and relates t
Page 47 and 48: 40 benign, sympathetic interpretati
Page 49 and 50: 42 and Machaire, and at the same ti
Page 51 and 52: 44 To finish the turn in the narrat
Page 53 and 54: 46 oghne prest” (V.1382-3). Geniu
Page 55 and 56: 48 incestuous. When she vows to tel
Page 57 and 58: 50 epilogue that acts as a prayer f
Page 59 and 60: 52 Of wommen were absent as thanne;
Page 61 and 62: 54 speak at length and discover the
Page 63 and 64: 56 Biblical incest, mostly unjudged
Page 65 and 66: 58 of a king and the function of la
Page 67 and 68: 60 country. But the incest—the wo
Page 69 and 70: 62 As chivalry is a controlling the
Page 71 and 72: 64 conflicting demands of love and
Page 73 and 74: 66 material for adaptation or trans
Page 75 and 76: 68 four sons, Gawain, Gaheris, Agra
Page 77 and 78: 70 can not be ameliorated, at least
Page 79 and 80: 72 killed save Mordred, who was fou
Page 81 and 82: 74 surrogate son-knights. Cherewatu
Page 83 and 84: 76 Lo ye all Englysshemen, se ye ha
Page 85 and 86: 78 demonstrated to all present on t
Page 87 and 88: 80 corruption that plagues the Pend
Page 89 and 90: 82 CHAPTER III ‘INCEST IS IN ME
Page 91 and 92: 84 wished to rid himself of Anne Bo
Page 93 and 94: 86 societal forces. The plays focus
Page 95 and 96: 88 in the family and on a national
Page 97: 90 reputation shifted such that vie
Page 101 and 102: 94 virtue, resists and is made whol
Page 103 and 104: 96 willingness to sacrifice the liv
Page 105 and 106: 98 Rejection of God and divine orde
Page 107 and 108: 100 is as an “ungodly sickness”
Page 109 and 110: 102 exercise her own agency. Though
Page 111 and 112: 104 potential problem of having a f
Page 113 and 114: 106 The plots of these three plays
Page 115 and 116: 108 play, the Duchess will have bee
Page 117 and 118: 110 As we have seen, the Duchess us
Page 119 and 120: 112 BOSOLA. It seems you would crea
Page 121 and 122: 114 But as Ferdinand’s outrages i
Page 123 and 124: 116 knife as phallus. Eros (Cupid)
Page 125 and 126: 118 posed by his slide into unreaso
Page 127 and 128: 120 and, as Kenneth Graham notes, i
Page 129 and 130: 122 Castle of Otranto displays the
Page 131 and 132: 124 Theodore is killed a group of k
Page 133 and 134: 126 memory, and regard your highnes
Page 135 and 136: 128 first Gothic playwright, publis
Page 137 and 138: 130 the castle is there primarily t
Page 139 and 140: 132 strength, and the men enter the
Page 141 and 142: 134 God bless me; and pass’d on.
Page 143 and 144: 136 familiar. It is more usual for
Page 145 and 146: 138 sensation of horror in the audi
Page 147 and 148: 140 foil to the Countess, with her
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142 And when he knelt, weeping, to
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144 Castle of Otranto, the knife is
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146 and political realities during
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149 destruction and disaster. One o
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151 subvert both patriarchy and mon
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153 BIBLIOGRAPHY Aers, David,ed. Me
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155 Classen, Albrecht, ed. Violence
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157 Ford, Jane M. Patriarchy and In
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159 Lenz, Joseph. The Promised End:
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161 Riddy, Felicity. Sir Thomas Mal
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SUMMERS, KAREN CRADY, Ph.D. Reading Incest - The University ...

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