The Narrator as Mourner and Therapist in Chaucer's 'Book of the Duchess'
- Author / Editor
- Thompson, Lou.
The Narrator as Mourner and Therapist in Chaucer's 'Book of the Duchess'
- Published
- Soundings 70 (1987): 435-43.
- Description
- The narrator of BD serves a therapeutic role: he helps the Black Knight talk out his grief and in the process purges himself of his own sorrow. In light of recent psychological studies, Chaucer's insights into bereavement are astute. BD warns against abnormal grieving; acceptance of loss and the decision to continue living are essential in avoiding pathological grief.
- Chaucer Subjects
- Book of the Duchess.