Chaucer's Use of the Proserpina Myth in 'The Knight's Tale' and 'The Merchant's Tale'

Author / Editor
Harley, Marta Powell.

Title
Chaucer's Use of the Proserpina Myth in 'The Knight's Tale' and 'The Merchant's Tale'

Published
Elizabeth T. Hayes, ed. Images of Persephone: Feminist Readings in Western Literature (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1994), pp. 20-32.

Description
In alluding to the triple goddess Diana-Lucina-Prosperina to characterize Emily in KnT and May in MerT, Chaucer "simultaneously represents female assertiveness ... and vulnerability." However, he allows the potential to depict female pain to dissipate, never transcending "antifeminist cliches."

Contributor
Hayes, Elizabeth T.

Alternative Title
Images of Persephone: Feminist Readings in Western Literature.

Chaucer Subjects
Knight and His Tale.
Merchant and His Tale.