{"product_id":"the-matter-of-virtue-womens-ethical-action-from-chaucer-to-shakespeare-9780812251418","title":"The Matter of Virtue: Women's Ethical Action from Chaucer to Shakespeare","description":"\u003cp\u003eIf material bodies have inherent, animating powers--or virtues, in the premodern sense--then those bodies typically and most insistently associated in the premodern period with matter--namely, women--cannot be inert and therefore incapable of ethical action, Holly Crocker contends. In \u003ci\u003eThe Matter of Virtue\u003c\/i\u003e, Crocker argues that one idea of what it means to be human--a conception of humanity that includes vulnerability, endurance, and openness to others--emerges when we consider virtue in relation to modes of ethical action available to premodern women. While a misogynistic tradition of virtue ethics, from antiquity to the early modern period, largely cast a skeptical or dismissive eye on women, Crocker seeks to explore what happened when poets thought about the material body not as a tool of an empowered agent whose cultural supremacy was guaranteed by prevailing social structures but rather as something fragile and open, subject but also connected to others. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAfter an introduction that analyzes \u003ci\u003eHamlet\u003c\/i\u003e to establish a premodern tradition of material virtue, Part I investigates how retellings of the demise of the title female character in Chaucer's \u003ci\u003eTroilus and Criseyde\u003c\/i\u003e, Henryson's \u003ci\u003eTestament of Cresseid\u003c\/i\u003e, and Shakespeare's \u003ci\u003eTroilus and Cressida\u003c\/i\u003e among other texts structure a poetic debate over the potential for women's ethical action in a world dominated by masculine violence. Part II turns to narratives of female sanctity and feminine perfection, including ones by Chaucer, Bokenham, and Capgrave, to investigate grace, beauty, and intelligence as sources of women's ethical action. In Part III, Crocker examines a tension between women's virtues and household structures, paying particular attention to English Griselda- and shrew-literatures, including Shakespeare's \u003ci\u003eTaming of the Shrew\u003c\/i\u003e. She concludes by looking at Chaucer's \u003ci\u003eLegend of Good Women\u003c\/i\u003e to consider alternative forms of virtuous behavior for women as well as men.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Holly A. Crocker\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Pennsylvania Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/27\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 360\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.55lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.10h x 6.00w x 1.20d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780812251418","brand":"University of Pennsylvania Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45133445660809,"sku":"9780812251418","price":94.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0636\/9240\/6921\/files\/img_9783feff-3c89-460e-affb-be7c2773aca2.jpg?v=1767678921","url":"https:\/\/sonsanddaughtersbooks.com\/products\/the-matter-of-virtue-womens-ethical-action-from-chaucer-to-shakespeare-9780812251418","provider":"Sons and Daughters Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}