The Cuckold, His Wife, and Her Lover: A Study of Infidelity in the Cent nouvelles nouvelles, the Decameron, and the Libro de buen amor by Sandra Bialystok A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Centre for Comparative Literature University of Toronto © Copyright by Sandra Bialystok, 2008 The Cuckold, His Wife and Her Lover: A Study of Infidelity in the Cent nouvelles nouvelles, the Decameron, and the Libro de buen amor Sandra Bialystok Doctor of Philosophy Centre for Comparative Literature University of Toronto 2008 Abstract This dissertation compares representations of women in erotic triangles. I contend that despite the stability implied by the triangular shape, the erotic triangle can be made unstable through women’s language. The first chapter examines medieval and contemporary writing on an essential relationship in the triangle: the friendship between the husband and the lover. Amicitia, chaste friendships between men, had its roots in Greek and Latin philosophy, and recently these relationships have been investigated according to mimetic desire (Girard) or homosocial desire (Sedgwick). In both medieval and modern configurations, these relationships are usually predicated upon the exchange of women. Claude Lévi-Strauss, Gayle Rubin and Luce Irigaray provide anthropological and literary explorations of the economic model where men exchange women to strengthen their homosocial bond. In the three texts, women use linguistic techniques to destabilize the erotic triangle. One is irony: frequently, one character does not understand an ironic statement and is excluded from the relationship between the other two participants. A second is pragmatic implicature, which is ii also used for exclusionary purposes. Other women adopt economic terminology to negotiate with their husbands or lovers for control of their bodies. Through these linguistic devices women speak exclusively to another member of the triangle, thereby undermining male friendships and denying their bodies be used as objects of exchange. Although their strategies are not always successful and some women remain exchangeable objects, we nevertheless see that erotic triangles can be destabilized. Furthermore, counter to the prevailing anthropological theory, certain women are aware of their position as commodities. From this insight, a new perspective on sexuality is exposed. The formerly strong male relationship, built on classical ideals and predicated on equality, breaks down when one man’s virility is pitted against his rival’s. Sometimes even, the supposedly chaste male relationship reveals erotic undertones. Women’s sexuality is also transformed when certain women prove to be desiring subjects, able to manipulate the system of exchange. In the end, institutionalized notions of chaste male friendships and women as objects of exchange are disrupted, sometimes even undermined, by capable women who determine who should have access to their bodies. iii Acknowledgements In theory, writing a dissertation is a solitary pursuit, but my own experience has been far from lonely. Instead, as a student at the Centre for Comparative Literature, I have fostered a number of important relationships with many people. I would especially like to thank my supervisor Jill Ross, whose classes on ‘The Body’ and ‘Feminism and Medieval Literature’ inspired a great part of this dissertation, and who has encouraged this project since I set foot at the Centre. I am also indebted to my colleagues on the 14th floor for their support and friendship. I am particularly grateful to Emilie McCabe who willingly shared her office and her thesaurus-like mind with me. My thanks also to Aphrodite Gardner and Bao Nguyen who have helped me cross all the bureaucratic matters that stand in a student’s way. Outside the Centre, I was greatly supported by my committee members, Suzanne Akbari, Olga Pugliese, and William Robins, all of whom offered revealing insights and careful comments. Throughout the experience, my family has been invaluable. From my parents, Ellen and Frank, both of whom have written theses of their own, I counted on much needed advice and a deep understanding of the dissertation process. From my sister Lauren, who is working through her own dissertation, I relied on a sympathetic ear and a critical eye. Most of all, from my husband Nicolas, I counted on constant support, companionship, and balance. But this dissertation is dedicated to my grandfather, Louis, who always wanted to know what I was thinking, and to Raphael, who is truly my most perfect creation. iv Table of Contents Title Page........................................................................................................................................ i Abstract.......................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements....................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents........................................................................................................................... v List of Figures.............................................................................................................................. vii List of Appendices...................................................................................................................... viii Introduction: The Problem of Medieval Feminism ....................................................................... 1 The Ubiquitous Erotic Triangle............................................................................................... 10 History-as-Continuity .............................................................................................................. 19 Chapter 1: Male Friendships and the Exchange of Women – Medieval and Current Approaches ..................................................................................................................................................... 21 Part 1: Building the Erotic Triangle: Homosocial Relationships and The Exchange of Women ................................................................................................................................................. 24 Amicitia Perfecta: Classical and Medieval.......................................................................... 25 Marriage and the Exchange of Women ............................................................................... 35 Reading the Medieval in Light of the Modern .................................................................... 42 Male Friendship and the Exchange of Women in the 20th Century: Six Perspectives ........ 43 Part II: Reading Amicitia and Male Homosocial Desire in Medieval Texts ........................... 67 Sedgwick and Medieval Literature...................................................................................... 67 Review of Criticism in French Literature............................................................................ 71 Review of Criticism in Italian Literature............................................................................. 82 Review of Criticism in Spanish Literature .......................................................................... 89 Conclusion: From the Exchange of Women and Amicitia to the Destabilized Triangle......... 90 Chapter 2: The Cent nouvelles nouvelles.................................................................................... 93 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 93 Se Divertir: Deceit, Laughter and the Pleasure of Storytelling ............................................... 96 Intentional misrepresentation: Irony and its uses ................................................................. 107 v Scenario 1: Building Triangles Through Conversational Implicature.................................. 119 Scenario 2: The art of seduction and the formation of homosocial bonds ........................... 124 Scenario 3: When men willingly share the same woman...................................................... 129 Conclusion: Developing and Disturbing the Erotic Triangle ................................................ 138 Chapter 3: The Decameron........................................................................................................ 142 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 142 Day VIII, Story 1 ................................................................................................................... 154 Day III, Story 4...................................................................................................................... 161 Day X, Story 5 ....................................................................................................................... 168 III,5: The “Zima” Story ......................................................................................................... 177 Chapter 4: The Libro de buen amor........................................................................................... 196 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 196 The Cruz Episode .................................................................................................................