Criseyde's Infidelity and the Moral of the 'Troilus'

Description: Characterizes Criseyde in TC as a good, even perfect, courtly heroine until she is unfaithful to Troilus, a result of the very human "weakness in the face of death." More than does Boccaccio in "Filostrato," Chaucer creates a sense of inevitability about events in his poem, including Criseyde's infidelity, and reinforces it with dramatic irony. As a result, when Criseyde chooses dishonor before death or loneliness, her infidelity conveys the transience of all worldly love and happiness.

Chaucer Subjects: Troilus and Criseyde; Sources, Analogues, and Literary Relations