The Physician's Tale

From Freepedia

The Physician's Tale is one of the Canterbury Tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century.

The tale is a domestic drama about the relationship between a daughter and her father and it is one of the earliest extant poems in English about such subjects and relationships. The tale comes from the Histories of Titus Livius and is retold in The Romance of the Rose, John Gower's Confessio Amantis which Chaucer drew on for inspiration along with the biblical story of Jephtha. Most of the other versions of the story focused on the cruel and arbitrary officials but Chaucer was far more concerned with the daughter as the central figure.

Verginius, a nobleman of Rome, has a beautiful, fourteen year old daughter Verginia. She is spotted on day by a judge Apius who decides he must have her and forms a plan. His accomplice, Claudius, claims in court that Verginia is his run-away slave and Apius decrees that her real father must relinquish her to the court. Verginius goes home and tells his daughter he must kill her to protect her honour and when she seemingly resigns herself to her fate and swoons, he cuts her head off. He takes her head to the court and when Apius demands his execution for murder the populous rises up and instead deposes the corrupt official. Apius kills himself in gaol but Verginius shows mercy and only has Claudius exiled.

Although difficult to date like most of Chaucer's tales, the Physician’s tale is usually regarded as an early work of Chaucer probably written before much of the rest of the Cantabury Tales was begun. The long, and rather distracting, digression on governesses possibly alludes to a historical event and may serve to date it. In 1386 Elizabeth, the daughter of John of Gaunt, eloped to France with John Hastings, 3rd Earl of Pembroke. The governess of Elizabeth was Katherine Swynford who was also Gaunt's mistress and later wife. Chaucer's very careful, mollifying words on the difficult job and the virtues of governesses seem to be a very canny political move.

The story is considered one of the moral tales, along with the Parson's tale and the Knight's tale although the moral at the end seems rather at odds with the rest of the story. It warns against sin affecting everyone but it is the innocent daughter who suffers suggesting that punishment for sin is arbitrary. The Host enjoys the tale and feels for the daughter but asks the Pardoner for a more merry tale. The Pardoner obliges and his tale has a similar but contrasting moral message.