Chapter 1 An Epistemology of Wonder

Abstract

“An Epistemology of Wonder” argues that, even before the main narrative begins, the intrinsic prologue of Melusine invokes authoritative discourses to construct a taxonomy of being that destabilizes entrenched hierarchies of gender. At first glance this taxonomy appears to tap into the prevailing cultural narratives of alterity, which work to ontologically negate the “other” (gender, cultural, racial, religious others, and so on), but it reworks the hierarchy by pressing into service a discourse of divinely inspired wonder. Drawing parallels between Bourdieu, Gothic architecture, and medieval philosophy, Shaw argues for a textual habitus that encourages the reader to proactively engage with a discourse of medieval wonder. These ideas are demonstrated in a reading of the Boar Hunt episode.