SOURCE: Burke, Linda Barney. “Women in John Gower's Confessio Amantis.” Mediaevalia 3 (1977): 238-59.

In the following essay, Burke discusses the surprising absence of “negative female stereotypes” in the Confessio Amantis.

It is readily apparent to readers of the Confessio Amantis, especially to those who are familiar with the earlier works of Gower, that the great English poem is imbued with a tone of mellowness, sensitivity, and compassion for the limitations of human nature.¹ What has not been so apparent is that an important reason for this benign atmosphere is the almost total absence of negative female stereotypes and antifeminist propaganda in the Confessio.

Unlike other Middle English poets, Gower does nothing to call attention to his literary treatment of women in the Confessio. He never announces any plan to recount the legend of good women, as does Chaucer in his poem of that name. Nor does he add any...