The Book of Criseyde

Criseyde's role in the double sorrow of Troilus has become the topic of an increasingly diversified debate in recent years. The figure of Troilus dominates the structure of Chaucer's narrative in accordance with the tradition of the tale. But Chaucer also grants Criseyde a counterpolemical subtext with a different set of concerns and expectations. From her distinct perspective, the use of threats and deception to extract commitments to Troilus directly contravenes her express demand for sovereignty in affairs of the heart (III 171-75). The narrator identifies with Troilus' ideology of love, but he also sympathizes with Criseyde's skepticism toward it. Criseyde expresses an alternative vision of earthly joy based on peace, liberty and the commonweal which approaches Chaucer's own ideal of a charitable universe.