Maegan
01-20-2013, 07:14 PM
A guy and a girl meet in some totally unrealistic way. They fall in love instantly. Weeks later, they get into an argument and pretend like they're never going to speak to each other again, but eventually end up living happily ever after. This is probably how most people think Romances originated. However, the Middle Ages had a very different idea of Romance. It had nothing to do with a typical cheesy love story or predictable plot lines. But instead, a hero going out on an adventure where their morals were tested right up until the day they returned to the same place they started. One can still find stories written more recently, however, that follow the Middle Age criteria of what makes something a Romance. The Wizard of Oz, written in the early 1900’s, can be compared to the Middle Age story, The Wife of Bath’s Tale, through the usage of romantic elements that are present in each story. The Wizard of Oz and The Wife of Bath are both Romances with similar female roles, and near perfect heros, but they are completely different in their portrayal of a quest, evil enemy, test of character, and supernatural elements.
To begin, the female figures in both Romances seemed to be depicted in the same fashion as the matrons of the middle ages. Dorothy, who is one of the romantic heroes, also happens to be one of the main female figures in the story, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. And her qualities show great resemblance to the characteristics demonstrated by the main woman in The Wife of Bath, the Queen. Dorothy is very head strong and doesn’t hold her feelings back in any way. This is indicated when she finally makes her way to Oz and the wizard refuses to give her what she deserves. She exclaims, “You must keep your promises to us! You are a very bad man” (Baum). Someone who is scared and timid, probably would not have come back with such a presumptuous response. The Queen in the Wife of Bath was the same way. She wasn’t going to let the Knight go very easily after the horrible crime that he committed. “yet you shall live if you can answer me: what is the thing that women most desire?” (Chaucer 70). The Queen was willing to let the Knight live, but he definitely had a price to pay. Both women were open to negotiation but still maintained very definite opinions. Female figures of the Middle Ages had the same freedom to speak their mind as women such as Dorothy who were created hundreds of years later.
Next, The Wizard of Oz and The Wife of Bath share another common element of a romance during the Middle Ages, this being a near perfect hero. Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and the Knight in Wife of Bath both committed a terrible crime that makes them less than superlative. Dorothy, for example, was accused of murdering the Wicked Witch of the East by dropping Auntie Em’s house on the Witch. This is obviously shown through the passage, “We are so grateful to you for having killed the Wicked Witch of the East” (Baum). The munchkin’s expression of gratitude shows even though the Witch's death was beneficial to many, Dorothy clearly committed a serious crime. The Knight in the Wife of Bath’s only flaw was that he could not control himself around women. This is explained on line 64, “There was a knight who was a lusty liver.” So unfortunately, this flaw resulted in him regrettably raping a girl which definitely qualifies him as being far less than perfect. Therefore, even centuries after The Wife of Bath was written, the flaws of the romantic hero still proved to be of the same caliber.
An aspect of the Romantic genre that both stories differ in, is their quest. Although Dorothy of the Wizard of Oz and the Knight in The Wife of Bath are both nearly perfect heros due to a crimes they committed, Dorothy’s crime was unintentional, while the Knight was well aware of the felony he was about to commit. Getting home was Dorothy’s only concern, which is illustrated when she says, “I am anxious to get back to my aunt and uncle for I am sure they will worry about me. Can you help me find my way?” (Baum). But the Knight’s quest was a punishment along with an ultimatum. If he didn’t complete the quest in a year and a day, we would die. “This act of violence made such a stir/ that [the king] condemned the knight to lose his head” (Probst 65). “You are to go a twelvemonth and a day to seek and learn sufficient answer, then you shall return.” (85). Thus, the two heroes had very unlike reasons for completing their expeditions.
Evil enemies, which showcase Middle Age Romantic literature, are portrayed differently through The Wizard of Oz and The Wife of Bath. The evil enemy in The Wizard of Oz is an actual Witch who feels threatened by the “power” that was supposedly given to Dorothy through the ruby red slippers, and therefore, the Witch sets out to kill her. Examples of the Witches resentment toward Dorothy are shown many times throughout the story. But one instance is when she says, “And as for you my fine lady, it’s true I can’t attend to you here as I would like, but just try to stay out of my way. I’ll get you my pretty. And your little dog too!” (Wizard). That adds a different twist to the story when the hero has to not only worry about finishing their quest, but they also have to continually fight off someone who is trying to hurt them. The evil enemy in The Wife of Bath, on the other hand, is the Knight’s internal self. His desire to be with every attractive woman he laid his eyes on, got the best of him on occasion, “And of that maiden, spite of all she said, by very force he took her maidenhead.” (Probst 64). After following through with such a crime, he had to reconcile it not only with the Queen, but also within himself. The evil enemies of The Wizard of Oz and Wife of Bath are very different portrayals of the romantic genre.
Another way that The Wizard of Oz can be distinguished from The Wife of Bath, is by their test of character and what they learned. Both heroes had morals to their quests but they were totally dissimilar. Dorothy states hers very clearly, “I think that it wasn’t enough just to want to see Uncle Henry and Auntie Em. And if I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again I won’t go looking any further than my own backyard. Because if it isn’t there I never really lost it to begin with” (Wizard). The moral to Dorothy’s story was to not run away from her problems and that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. The Knight in The Wife of Bath had a very contrasting lesson to learn. When the old hag asked the knight if he would rather be married to someone hideous, but was one hundred percent faithful, or someone beautiful and adulterous, he replied, “My lady and my love, and wife so dear, I put myself in your wise governing; Do you choose which may be the more pleasing, And bring most honour to you, and me also. I care not which it be of these things two; For if you like it, that suffices me.” (Chaucer 230). After completing his quest, he sufficiently learned how he should treat women with respect instead of like they are disposable objects. Wherefore, as both stories had a central test of a hero, Dorothy’s was much more simple and innocent, while the Knight’s was a total change of character.
The final essential feature of a Romance in the Middle Ages was supernatural elements, which The Wizard of Oz incorporated very differently from The Wife of Bath. Although there are many instances throughout The Wizard of Oz when supernatural elements are used, the most prominent usage is by the Wicked Witch of the West. For example, when the witch is trying to prevent Dorothy and her friends from getting to Oz, she poisons the poppies in their path. “Now my beauties, something with poison in it I think. But attractive to the eye and soothing to the smell. Poppies. Poppies will put them to sleep. Now they’ll sleep” (Wizard). These supernatural elements are constructed with evil intentions to hurt or even kill Dorothy. Wife of Bath, on the other hand, has supernatural elements that are used for good. The old lady in the story was in fact not an old lady at all. It was all a facade to teach the Knight a lesson and to make him see what is actually important in life. As soon as he realized that personality is much more important than physical appearance, her grotesque demeanor disappeared, “and when indeed the knight had looked to see, lo, she was young and lovely, rich in charms.” (Chaucer 426). Even though both allegories contain the Romantic component of supernatural elements, The Wizard of Oz demonstrates them through a wicked witch, while the Wife of Bath showcases them through a good witch.
Ultimately, The Wizard of Oz and The Wife of Bath are both very intriguing Romances. The Queen in the Wife of Bath and Dorothy were very confident and knew how to get stuff done. The heroes of the two romances were almost perfect, aside from their one wrongdoing. The quests, however, were for completely different reasons, one being punishment and the other being confusion. The Evil Enemies were different in that Dorothy was fighting with another person, while the Knight was fighting with himself. Their central tests were also very different in their levels of complexity and innocence. The supernatural elements in The Wife of Bath were used with good intentions, which contrasts the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz’s evil intentions. So although sappy love stories and happy endings make for very entertaining movies, those qualities were irrelevant in the Romance genre, as far as the Middle Ages were concerned.
To begin, the female figures in both Romances seemed to be depicted in the same fashion as the matrons of the middle ages. Dorothy, who is one of the romantic heroes, also happens to be one of the main female figures in the story, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. And her qualities show great resemblance to the characteristics demonstrated by the main woman in The Wife of Bath, the Queen. Dorothy is very head strong and doesn’t hold her feelings back in any way. This is indicated when she finally makes her way to Oz and the wizard refuses to give her what she deserves. She exclaims, “You must keep your promises to us! You are a very bad man” (Baum). Someone who is scared and timid, probably would not have come back with such a presumptuous response. The Queen in the Wife of Bath was the same way. She wasn’t going to let the Knight go very easily after the horrible crime that he committed. “yet you shall live if you can answer me: what is the thing that women most desire?” (Chaucer 70). The Queen was willing to let the Knight live, but he definitely had a price to pay. Both women were open to negotiation but still maintained very definite opinions. Female figures of the Middle Ages had the same freedom to speak their mind as women such as Dorothy who were created hundreds of years later.
Next, The Wizard of Oz and The Wife of Bath share another common element of a romance during the Middle Ages, this being a near perfect hero. Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and the Knight in Wife of Bath both committed a terrible crime that makes them less than superlative. Dorothy, for example, was accused of murdering the Wicked Witch of the East by dropping Auntie Em’s house on the Witch. This is obviously shown through the passage, “We are so grateful to you for having killed the Wicked Witch of the East” (Baum). The munchkin’s expression of gratitude shows even though the Witch's death was beneficial to many, Dorothy clearly committed a serious crime. The Knight in the Wife of Bath’s only flaw was that he could not control himself around women. This is explained on line 64, “There was a knight who was a lusty liver.” So unfortunately, this flaw resulted in him regrettably raping a girl which definitely qualifies him as being far less than perfect. Therefore, even centuries after The Wife of Bath was written, the flaws of the romantic hero still proved to be of the same caliber.
An aspect of the Romantic genre that both stories differ in, is their quest. Although Dorothy of the Wizard of Oz and the Knight in The Wife of Bath are both nearly perfect heros due to a crimes they committed, Dorothy’s crime was unintentional, while the Knight was well aware of the felony he was about to commit. Getting home was Dorothy’s only concern, which is illustrated when she says, “I am anxious to get back to my aunt and uncle for I am sure they will worry about me. Can you help me find my way?” (Baum). But the Knight’s quest was a punishment along with an ultimatum. If he didn’t complete the quest in a year and a day, we would die. “This act of violence made such a stir/ that [the king] condemned the knight to lose his head” (Probst 65). “You are to go a twelvemonth and a day to seek and learn sufficient answer, then you shall return.” (85). Thus, the two heroes had very unlike reasons for completing their expeditions.
Evil enemies, which showcase Middle Age Romantic literature, are portrayed differently through The Wizard of Oz and The Wife of Bath. The evil enemy in The Wizard of Oz is an actual Witch who feels threatened by the “power” that was supposedly given to Dorothy through the ruby red slippers, and therefore, the Witch sets out to kill her. Examples of the Witches resentment toward Dorothy are shown many times throughout the story. But one instance is when she says, “And as for you my fine lady, it’s true I can’t attend to you here as I would like, but just try to stay out of my way. I’ll get you my pretty. And your little dog too!” (Wizard). That adds a different twist to the story when the hero has to not only worry about finishing their quest, but they also have to continually fight off someone who is trying to hurt them. The evil enemy in The Wife of Bath, on the other hand, is the Knight’s internal self. His desire to be with every attractive woman he laid his eyes on, got the best of him on occasion, “And of that maiden, spite of all she said, by very force he took her maidenhead.” (Probst 64). After following through with such a crime, he had to reconcile it not only with the Queen, but also within himself. The evil enemies of The Wizard of Oz and Wife of Bath are very different portrayals of the romantic genre.
Another way that The Wizard of Oz can be distinguished from The Wife of Bath, is by their test of character and what they learned. Both heroes had morals to their quests but they were totally dissimilar. Dorothy states hers very clearly, “I think that it wasn’t enough just to want to see Uncle Henry and Auntie Em. And if I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again I won’t go looking any further than my own backyard. Because if it isn’t there I never really lost it to begin with” (Wizard). The moral to Dorothy’s story was to not run away from her problems and that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. The Knight in The Wife of Bath had a very contrasting lesson to learn. When the old hag asked the knight if he would rather be married to someone hideous, but was one hundred percent faithful, or someone beautiful and adulterous, he replied, “My lady and my love, and wife so dear, I put myself in your wise governing; Do you choose which may be the more pleasing, And bring most honour to you, and me also. I care not which it be of these things two; For if you like it, that suffices me.” (Chaucer 230). After completing his quest, he sufficiently learned how he should treat women with respect instead of like they are disposable objects. Wherefore, as both stories had a central test of a hero, Dorothy’s was much more simple and innocent, while the Knight’s was a total change of character.
The final essential feature of a Romance in the Middle Ages was supernatural elements, which The Wizard of Oz incorporated very differently from The Wife of Bath. Although there are many instances throughout The Wizard of Oz when supernatural elements are used, the most prominent usage is by the Wicked Witch of the West. For example, when the witch is trying to prevent Dorothy and her friends from getting to Oz, she poisons the poppies in their path. “Now my beauties, something with poison in it I think. But attractive to the eye and soothing to the smell. Poppies. Poppies will put them to sleep. Now they’ll sleep” (Wizard). These supernatural elements are constructed with evil intentions to hurt or even kill Dorothy. Wife of Bath, on the other hand, has supernatural elements that are used for good. The old lady in the story was in fact not an old lady at all. It was all a facade to teach the Knight a lesson and to make him see what is actually important in life. As soon as he realized that personality is much more important than physical appearance, her grotesque demeanor disappeared, “and when indeed the knight had looked to see, lo, she was young and lovely, rich in charms.” (Chaucer 426). Even though both allegories contain the Romantic component of supernatural elements, The Wizard of Oz demonstrates them through a wicked witch, while the Wife of Bath showcases them through a good witch.
Ultimately, The Wizard of Oz and The Wife of Bath are both very intriguing Romances. The Queen in the Wife of Bath and Dorothy were very confident and knew how to get stuff done. The heroes of the two romances were almost perfect, aside from their one wrongdoing. The quests, however, were for completely different reasons, one being punishment and the other being confusion. The Evil Enemies were different in that Dorothy was fighting with another person, while the Knight was fighting with himself. Their central tests were also very different in their levels of complexity and innocence. The supernatural elements in The Wife of Bath were used with good intentions, which contrasts the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz’s evil intentions. So although sappy love stories and happy endings make for very entertaining movies, those qualities were irrelevant in the Romance genre, as far as the Middle Ages were concerned.