¶La mort
Approuches vous reuenderesse ¶La reuenderesse Iauoie hier gaignie deux escus |
The picture above doesn't show what the resales woman is selling, but in the books of hours she is shown with her arms full of clothes and belts (picture to the right).
She's boasting that she has earned two ecus (»gaignie deux escus«) by subtle overcharging (»Pour sourfaire subtilement«), but the money has already been taken from her, and she doesn't know by whom.
¶La mort
Femme de petite value ¶La femme amoureuse A ce pechie me suis soubzmise |
Death accepts a flower from the loving woman, but the text is without mercy: She is a prostitute.
She is a "woman of low value" (»Femme de petite value«), who lives an evil life in carnality (»en charnalite«). The woman regrets her sinful life and wishes that those who have brought her into trouble should be hung (»Pendus soient ceulx qui my ont mise«).
In comparison she gets a better treatment in the books of hours. As she stands there with her flower in hand (picture to the right), l'amoureuse is simply the female counterpart to "l'amoureux", the male suitor.
In Dutch she is called de vrijester, which is the counterpart to de vrier, the suitor. In Latin they are called amator and amatrix respectively.
Is it possible that a chaste woman could assume the rôle of a "suitoress" in the dark Middle Ages? I don't know, but I think this question is irrelevant. Authors in the Middle Ages were able to create male/female counterparts, without being hindered by reality — for instance the tarot cards include a "popess" as a counterpart to the pope.(1) It should also be remembered that in the English translation, Lydgate had no qualms about adding the Gentilwoman amerous as a counterpart to "the amerous Squyere".
Is it possible on the other hand, that there are two "loose women" in the dance? Could the welcoming woman as well as the amourous woman be prostitutes? Yes, that too is possible. The great number of women in the dance in contrast to the limited roles for women in the contemporary society has resulted in great deal of redundancy: There's a spinster, old woman and woman with crutches. There's a newlywed, a bride and a sweet wife. And there's a young woman, virgin and young girl.
This difference in treatment the suitoress gets in la Danse macabre and the books of hours is mirrored in the way the hospitable woman is described.
Footnotes: (1)
The popess . . .: Some people argue that there was in fact a female pope viz. Pope Joan.
According to the legend Joan disguised herself as a man and rose to the rank of pope. She was revealed as a woman when she gave birth to a child. After that her career (and life) came to an abrupt end.
But the popess tarot card is not Pope Joan, who is usually portrayed with her baby. Furthermore Joan was not a popess but a pope, and finally the whole story is legendary, which goes to strengthen my point about how authors of the Middle Ages could create such characters without being hindered by reality.