emotions: love, desire A03

context of the strong emotion love

 Duchess and Antonio subverts Jacobean ideologies, The Duchess was a widow, it was viewed as shameful for a to remarry, considered ‘disrespectful’ to the deceased husband and evidence of frowned upon desire. This marriage is initiated by The Duchess is a subversive figure as she carries out her strong emotions despite this: wasn’t typical to marry below or above one’s class, so by marrying Antonio, it highlights the strong love she truly feels for him.

context of the strong emotion desire

noblewomen were expected to marry strategically to preserve family status and wealth. The idea of a widow remarrying for love, as the Duchess does, was seen as a threat to patriarchal control. Ferdinand’s incestous desires reflect anxieties in Jacobean society surrounding female sexuality and patriarchal control, as well as irony of men’s abilty to show their lust and desire (same with cardinal Julia) especially brothers and fathers, who saw themselves as guardians of family purity. The Jacobean era was also marked by an increased fear of female independence, as widows had more legal and financial freedom than unmarried or married women. Ferdinand’s incestuous undertones may stem from this fear, with his controlling desire for the Duchess symbolizing the broader societal need to restrict women’s autonomy.

TMT lust

TMT January and May’s transactional marriage reflects the late medieval view of marriage as an economic and social contract rather than an emotional union. Wealthy older men frequently sought young wives to secure heirs, while women from lower ranks could improve their status through marriage, as May does. Medieval literature and church teachings reinforced the idea that marriage was primarily for procreation, not love. The Church permitted marital sex but condemned excessive lust, particularly in older men, making January’s sexual obsession with May both comical and grotesque. Chaucer critiques the hypocrisy and folly of medieval marriage expectations

TMT love

TMT: Links to ideas of courtly love, Chaucer is criticising this romanticised ideal by presenting Damian with typically lovesick poetic actions yet he is arguably driven by the emotion lust. Extramarital affairs were a common trope in courtly literature, particularly in fabliaux, where women deceived older husbands to satisfy their sexual desires.