Chaucer and the Gift (If There Is Any)

Author / Editor
Harwood, Britton J.

Title
Chaucer and the Gift (If There Is Any)

Published
Studies in Philology 103 (2006): 26-46.

Description
Explores gift-giving in Part 5 of CT, from the magical gifts given to Ghengis Khan in SqT to the concern with generosity that ends FranT. Uses Derridean notions of gifts and exchange to argue that the sequence is Chaucer's means to "erase unproductive expenditure . . . by safely framing and containing it by economy and exchange."

Chaucer Subjects
Squire and His Tale.
Franklin and His Tale.