Conquering the Reign of Femeny: Gender and Genre in Chaucer’s Romance by Angela Jane Weisl (review)

REVIEWS naries, grammar texts, ancillary texts and translations, and "Yearly Bibliographies and Other Bibliographical Listings. " Finally, the editor's superb glossary provides relevant information "for every form of every word" (p.217) in Pearl. Such data is anchored further by the "literal meanings [ofwords}, line numbers, grammatical elements, and etymological derivatives [OED, MED}" (p.xi). In general, Vantuono succeeds admirably in his editorial purposes, for he has crafted a book suitable for students and scholars alike.Such an edition, then, both illuminates Pearl's rich vision world and comple­ ments Vantuono's earlier work, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: A Dual-Language Version (1991). ROBERT J.BLANCH Northeastern University ANGELA JANE WEISL.Conquering the Reign ofFemeny: Gender and Genre in Chaucer's Romance. Chaucer Studies, vol. 22. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1995.Pp.ix, 133.$53.0 0. This provocative little volume begins with an image from ltalo Cal­ vino's Invisible Cities in which several men simultaneously dream of a long-haired naked woman vanishing through an unknown city into the darkness.Failing to locate the city, they construct one of their own, with mazes to trap the vision should she reappear.This image, Angela Jane Weisl tells us, embodies the romance genre in that its essential content of male desire, the action of pursuing the woman, and the method ofexecution through entrapping labyrinths recapitulate the ro­ mance.It is a haunting metaphor. Insights in the twenty-page introduction, which this reader found more evocative than the somewhat repetitive readings of four individ­ ual romances, are quite creative.Weisl's thesis is that Chaucer pushes "boundaries (the glass ceiling that defines roles, positions, and possi­ bilities}, testing the genre's limits ...to show both its confines and its potential" (p.3).Since romance defines the nature and behavior ofhero­ ines (who cannot be ugly Loathly Ladies, self-motivated, independent young Alisons, or gregariously assertive old Alisons), it contains them. Feminine confinement, such as that of the coerced, unwilling Emelye, 335 STUDIES IN THE AGE OF CHAUCER then, symbolizes the genre. In upsetting her gendered role, Criseyde flaunts tradition, upsetting both the genre and her tale, which can no longer support a standard romance ending. Although these ideas seem intriguing, many romances defy the "confined-woman" schema-Parzival, Amis andAmiloun (with one very dominant Belisaunt and another domineering wife), Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (whose two women wield much power), and the allitera­ tive Morte Arthure (with no primary woman) come to mind.Eventually Weisl acknowledges exceptions, that "many poems that are gener­ ally ...lays or romances are not really about romantic love at all" (p.8), seemingly contradicting herself. Classifying is hazardous, as Susan Crane has noted, but perhaps limiting the thesis to certain types of ro­ mances might have ameliorated the problem.Several evocative issues tease us, but remain unclarified.How, for example, is Boccaccio a source for Chaucer's methodology as much as for plot? How do Chaucer's ro­ mances, transformed into self-referential narratives, tell us as much about narrative as they do about love? Some claims seem controversial or contradictory.For example, Weisl states, "Chaucer, strikingly, can­ not end two of his romances" (p. 5), discounting those who insist The Squire's Tale and Tale ofSir Thopas are in fact ended precisely at the right, intended moment.Since some romances contain didactic elements, the author posits a reverse mimesis-life imitating art.But from Horace or before, the ends of poetry have always been to teach and entertain, so how does romance differ? Certain statements appear self-evident or un­ remarkable, such as Chaucer's attitude to romance: "The genre is prob­ lematic for him; he continually challenges, expands, and tests the lim­ its of the romance by shifting its contexts and altering its conventions" (p.2).Does his policy differ for other genres, equally manipulated for the new creative spark they elicit? Is not his genius that he regularly transgresses, defies boundaries, violates generic expectations, and to successful, not deconstructive, ends? Weisl believes that although women are necessary to the genre, their space and roles are restricted.Yet she admits: "The woman's role can be greater than [inspiring and perfecting...