The Heptameron offers a lovely critique of the social morals of the time. In the frame narrative and this passage specifically, the characters that are flagrantly telling tails of infidelity and its repercussions, such as Longarine, are involved in affairs themselves, marring their discourse with hypocrisy. Overall, infidelity is used as a lens to critique the disingenuous nature of the society in which the characters live. Despite outward displays of morality, the fact that many of characters engage in clandestine affairs, reveals the discrepancy between appearance and reality. Ultimately, the piece invites readers to challenge not only their own perceptions and actions involving the morality and gendered dynamics in extramarital scandals, but also societies.

Butterworth, Emily. “Scandal and narrative in the Heptaméron.” French Studies, vol. 72, no. 3, 2 June 2018, pp. 350–363, https://doi.org/10.1093/fs/kny121.

As discussed in the module opening and extensively in academia, Gargantua & Pantagruel was one of the formative pieces of satire that broke into a relatively modest and proper European society. The conditions and stigma of the society in which it was written clearly had an impact on the author, as he originally published this piece under a false name, and his writing, as witnessed in this passage. Here, Rabelais makes sure to point out to the reader other instances of fantastical births and origins written by authors that society deems ‘respectable and proper,’ almost as if he is preemptively defending his work. The prevalence of this tactic and tone throughout the piece reads as someone overcompensating, compounding the impact of writing the uncomfortable for a comfortable audience.

Renner, Bernd. “From Satura to Satyre: François Rabelais and the Renaissance Appropriation of a Genre*.” Renaissance Quarterly 67.2 (2014): 377–424. Web.

The number 'Five' has been repeated multiple times, generally with religious connotations, throughout the recounting of this chivalric romance. In this instance, the phrase "Now feel I in five wits" that Gawain uses as a self admonishment refers to the five 'inner wits,' instead of the senses referred to previously in the story. In a essay focusing on said wits, repetitions, and symbolism of the endless knot, Blackwell further contextualizes the meaning behind the phrase "Medieval writers describe these five inner wits as combinations of will, reason, memory, sensus communis, imagination, cogitation, and instinct; the sum of the parts is generally called “cognition.”" This could imply that the contextualization of such concepts in that period of time underscored his courtly transgressions in a manner that is harder to understand in todays age.

Blackwell, Alice. “Gaiwan’s Five Wits: Technological Difficulties in the Endless Knot.” Quidditas, vol. 29, no. 3, 2008, https://doi.org/https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/rmmra/vol29/iss1/3.

The over-exaggerated nature of the complaints the women express over anxiety in missing menial household labor in this passage lends itself both to the comedic aspects of the play and the reinforcement that these women were written by a man. Contextualizing this scenario in both time and genre, Wilcox writes "When they occupy the Parthenon, too, the women are often depicted as foolish creatures, worried about returning to their homes to take care of their wool and to strip their flax. At the time, these concerns would have been seen as relatively insignificant and would definitely have paled in comparison to the concerns that real women would have had. Only one woman even mentions how she misses and wants to take care of her child; the rest seem more concerned with maintenance of the household" (6). Whilst in the middle of a 30 year war that has been killing fathers, brothers, husbands, and sons and while on strike away from home for extended periods of time, these trivializations paint women as frivolous and underscore their ultimate goal.

Works Cited: Wilcox, Katie. "Feminist Literary Criticism and Lysistrata." University of Lynchburg, 2009, (11). https://digitalshowcase.lynchburg.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1099&context=agora

In this chapter, both the audience and Arjuna learn about the depth of Krishna's identity: a deity, the eighth incarnation of Vishnu. While Hinduism worships multiple deities, here Krishna is worshiped as the 'Supreme God,' simultaneously all things. This line struck me as a particular way to encompass the enormity of his existence, as 'The end of Learning' implies that he has lived in the absolute, and that he has gleaned every lesson and every bit of knowledge that is possible for a consciousness to consume. It enforces his role in this story as not a god, but God, the highest form of worship and most importantly to this story in particular, as the reliable narrator and guide for both Arjuna and the audience in their religious journey.

Minor, R. "Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita." Krishna: A sourcebook (2007): 77-94.