Why have psychoanalytic approaches to interpreting medieval art long been resisted? For decades many art historians have explored how Sigmund Freud’s ideas can enhance the readings of objects, yet medievalists have considered psychoanalytic theories too remote in time and philosophy from their subject. Psychoanalysis seems too concerned with individual agency to be adapted for use in studying artists and patrons whose identities have largely been lost over time. Madeline H. Caviness claims to be “the first to attempt an articulation of current [psychoanalytic] theories in play with feminist analyses of medieval works of art” (229). The medieval field would benefit from an open discussion of the obstacles to theory that Caviness endeavors to overcome, though disappointingly these impediments often remain only implicit in her discussion. Nevertheless, Visualizing Women in the Middle Ages: Sight, Spectacle, and Scopic Economy addresses important topics about theory, art, and methodology that are relevant to the art historian as well as to the theoretician. Caviness’s theoretical examination considers representations of women who have “sight” as well as those who are seen as “spectacle,” namely through the “male gaze.” Her secondary goal is to break down the barriers between theory and medieval art by proving that the...