Chaucer's "Franklin's Tale"

Paper Summary:

The paper examines the Middle-English text of the 'Franklin's Tale' by Chaucer and concludes that it is derived from Breton Lai, a style most famously used in the popular fiction of Marie de France in the Twelfth Century. Over the two hundred year period between the work of Marie de France and Chaucer, literature naturally progressed and it attempts to show that the "Franklin's Tale" is a text that has developed from the characteristically refined and escapist genre of Breton Lai.

From the Paper:

"Chaucer is true to Breton lai convention in that he sets the story in a vague, but chivalrous pre-Christian past. The open ended and somewhat psychological dilemma posed at the end of the romance cannot thus be solved by means of Christian intervention. Hypothetically, the fourteenth century church would have advised Dorigen that keeping her promise to Aurelius and thereby committing adultery would be a far greater sin than breaking her promise to him. Arveragus, however, believes that his wife should keep her promise, which again deviates from the traditional allegiance to the loyalty of the lover in Breton lai."

More papers on Chaucer's "Franklin's Tale":

• Analytical Essay # 58035 : "Geoffrey Chaucer's "Tales of Marriage"
• Analytical Essay # 62996 : "The Franklin's Tale"
• Book Review # 110008 : "Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales"
• Analytical Essay # 61804 : "Chaucer and Pity"

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