Palimpsestic Philomela: Reinscription in Chaucer's 'Legend of Philomela'

Published: Leo Carruthers, Raeleen Chai-Elsholz, and Tatjana Silec, eds. Palimpsests and the Literary Imagination of Medieval England (New York: Plagrave Macmillan, 2011), pp. 157-73..

Description: Chaucer rewrites his source in Ovid "Metamaphorses" 6 to show the strong bond between the sisters who provide solace to each other. The same kind of bond is shown among the women who support the raped maiden in the WBT. The meaning of rape in medieval England sheds light on the relations between Tereus and Pandion and has implications for Pandarus' role in TC in arranging Troilus' affair with Criseyde. Chaucer's obliteration of Procne's revenge allows him to stress the mutually sustaining bond of the sisters.

Alternative Title: Palimpsests and the Literary Imagination of Medieval England.

Chaucer Subjects: Legend of Good Women; Sources, Analogues, and Literary Relations; Wife of Bath and Her Tale; Troilus and Criseyde