I'm in the Bod... just some random thoughts...
Okay, well firstly, about Pandarus... How do you guys feel about him? The critic Chauncey Wood is clearly not a fan. He dedicated a whole sub-chapter to this emotional tirade against Pandarus, calling him manipulative, an example of the "Evil Counsellor", and going as far as to say that he 'sexually harasses' Criseyde (?? I totally missed that! Do you guys know what he's referring to? I wondered whether dear Chauncey maybe exaggerated things due to his pathological dislike of Pandarus--perhaps he too has an interfering uncle). But anyway, Wood says he feels Pandarus is far from the 'comic' figure other, previous critics have seen, and is, rather, a very sinister one.
In the EFL today, I almost had tears in my eyes over Pandarus, which is probably not what Wood nor the 'Pandarus as comic genius' critics would see as a normal response to him! The thing is, I find him an incredibly sad, pathetic figure (pathetic as in pathos, not 'god, he's so pathetic, man!'-- how would you clarify in an exam?!). He mocks himself as a failed lover, saying how he always 'hops' behind love... He seems to want to live through the eponymous young lovers of Chaucer's poem, and he seems to get carried away by the fantasy almost... Maybe my reading is overly-sentimental, and poorly supported--I haven't done this properly, it's just some thoughts I got... but I actually felt sad for Pandarus. There's one bit where he threatens to kill himself if Criseyde doesn't go after Troilus-- I can't remember the context/reasons exactly, and I didn't explain it well in my essay-- do you guys know which bit I'm referring to? Anyhow, this is VERY manipulative and unpleasant behaviour, but it also struck me as extremely, extremely sad & desperate... Why would he say such things, I mean it seems he's emotionally bound with the lovers' relationship in a way that doesn't seem 'normal', not as Criseyde's uncle nor as Troilus' friend.
Wood notes that, differently to Pandarus, the narrator does not love because of "unlikeliness", which looking in the Chaucer Glossary, means 'unsuitability'... I wasn't sure what that means in this context (do you guys know?), but in any case, do you feel, like some critics have suggested, that the narrator is actually in love with Criseyde? I'm beginning to lean that way, but don't have enough material / thoughts to say it properly yet!
Sorry for boring you with all this... just some random thoughts which took over my mind today.
(sorry about the modern spellings here also...)
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4 comments:
i think a lot of critics are influenced by most-Chaucerian treatments of T&C. ie. Shakespeare's play. Chaucer is much more netural and accepting of the whole legend, and his Pandarus is not as "sinister" as Shakespeare's. I don't think you need to clarify the meaning of 'pathetic' in an exam, because they would assume you meant the pathos type, rather than the "god he is pathetic" type. I think I agree with you- he is a pathetic figure in many ways. He is also a failed person, so he tries to live vicariously through those two. i didnt think that the narrator is in love with Criseyde, only that he is eager to be the first (and only one) to protect her reputation. He tries to rewrite the past, and wants it to be of some influence. Unfortunately, Shakespeare takes over a century or so later, and undoes what Chaucer did. Shakespeare's advantage: the stage as opposed to the page.
" i didnt think that the narrator is in love with Criseyde, only that he is eager to be the first (and only one) to protect her reputation. "... That's interesting...
I find Pandarus a pathetic figure, too - I like him; I mean, clearly there's something wrong with him, but all he wants is for his friends to be happy, it doesn't seem that he's going to gain from it himself, even if he goes about it the wrong way. I think I would also tend to agree with the view expressed somewhere (must look that up) that Pandarus is actually in love with Troilus, but knows that is impossible (he makes several comments about having been in love for a long time with someone he can't have) so the next best thing is getting him together with his niece.
ooh i like that idea, lollius! and i think you could argue that very nicely!
So Ragnell thinks P loves C, Lollius thinks that P loves T, Ragnelle also suggests that narrator likes C. and Illusionary suggests that no one likes anyone, Chaucer's just trying to be nice (trying to act the feminist p'haps?)
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