Affections of the Mind: The Politics of Sacramental Marriage in Late Medieval English Literature

With its nuanced attention to the ways that the discursive constructions of marriage and the social values of the middle social strata inflect one another, Lipton's work elegantly illustrates how any analysis of gender and sexuality can be made richer and more precise by considering social status as well. -- Medieval Feminist Forum

Lipton makes a case for viewing marriage as an idea and category of experience through which late-medieval people understood the world. The book as a whole offers interesting, often surprising, readings of literary works. Affections of the Mind reminds us to take a fresh look at the social significance that literary representations had in late-medieval England. -- Speculum: Journal of Medieval Studies

The strength of Affections of the Mind is in Lipton's ability to apply the medieval arguments about marriage to literary texts and to contextualize this analysis within the social and economic changes of late medieval England. As such, it provides the reader with a solid grounding in the marriage debates as well as with individual readings of texts both widely known and more obscure. The book is a fine example of the interplay between history and literature, one that can be a model for future scholarship. -- Sixteenth Century Journal

Lipton makes a case for viewing marriage as an idea and category of experience through which late-medieval people understood the world. The book as a whole offers interesting, often surprising, readings of literary works. Affections of the Mind reminds us to take a fresh look at the social significance that literary representations had in late-medieval England. Speculum: Journal of Medieval Studies

With its nuanced attention to the ways that the discursive constructions of marriage and the social values of the middle social strata inflect one another, Lipton s work elegantly illustrates how any analysis of gender and sexuality can be made richer and more precise by considering social status as well. Medieval Feminist Forum

The strength of Affections of the Mind is in Lipton s ability to apply the medieval arguments about marriage to literary texts and to contextualize this analysis within the social and economic changes of late medieval England. As such, it provides the reader with a solid grounding in the marriage debates as well as with individual readings of texts both widely known and more obscure. The book is a fine example of the interplay between history and literature, one that can be a model for future scholarship. Sixteenth Century Journal