Representing Rape in Medieval and Early Modern Literature

In thirteen studies of representations of rape in Medieval and Early Modern literature by such authors as Chaucer, Shakespeare and Spenser, this volume argues that some form of sexual violence against women serves as a foundation of Western culture. The volume has two purposes: first, to explore the resistance these pervasive representations generate and have generated for readers - especially for the female reader- and second, to explore what these representations tell us about social formations governing the relationships between men and women. More particularly, Rose and Robertson are interested in how representations of rape manifest a given culture's understanding of the female subject in society.

CHRISTINE ROSE is Associate Professor of English at Portland State University and has been a member of the Advisory Board of the Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship.

ELIZABETH ROBERTSON is Associate Professor of English at the University of Colorado at Boulder and is founder editor of The Medieval Feminist Newsletter.