Chaucer and Rape : Uncertainty's Certainties
- Author / Editor
- Cannon, Christopher.
Chaucer and Rape : Uncertainty's Certainties
- Published
- Studies in the Age of Chaucer 22: 67-92, 2000.
- Description
- We remain uncertain about the meaning of Cecily Chaumpaigne's release of Chaucer from a charge of rape, but the topic of rape (and forced marriage) in Chaucer's poetry reflects his sensitivity to the complex "definitional problems" of raptus. Chaucer explores the fine line between consent and "nonconsent" in Troilus and Criseyde, The Second Nun's Tale, and elsewhere, and his exploration reflects Boethian concerns with volition.
- Reprinted in Elizabeth Robertson and Christine M. Rose, eds. Representing Rape in Medieval and early Modern Literature (New York: Palgrave, 2001), pp. 255-79.
- Chaucer Subjects
- Chaucer's Life.
- Troilus and Criseyde.
- Language and Word Studies.
- Second Nun and Her Tale.