A Comparison of the Patient Wife in Boccaccio, Petrarch, Chaucer, and Lope

Abstract

Boccaccio, Petrarch, and Chaucer all told versions of the Patient Wife narrative that could be read both literally and metaphorically. Literally, the narrative served as both a lesson in wifely obedience and as a commentary on the patriarchal social order of the Middle Ages. As an allegory, the tale had biblical implications about the necessity of obedience to one’s heavenly ruler. The popularity of this tale lasted well beyond the Middle Ages, making its way into Renaissance dramatic comedies. Some of these Renaissance versions eliminate the metaphorical possibilities of the narrative and mitigate Griselda’s situation by pairing the patient wife motif with a tamed shrew motif. However, in El ejemplo de casadas (The Wives’ Example), Lope de Vega prevents a dramatic version of the tale that does not abandon the metaphorical possibilities of the medieval versions. This essay examines the political and religious implications of Lope’s dramatic version of Patient Griselda. [Article copies available for a fee from The Transformative Studies Institute. E-mail address: journal@transformativestudies.org Website: http://www.transformativestudies.org ©2024 by The Transformative Studies Institute. All rights reserved.]