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A Physician's Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer Summary and Analysis The Physician's Tale is not among the most notable of the Geoffrey Chaucer tales, significantly because it is much simpler in its way of narration and conclusion than other Canterbury Tales. As Titus Living, the Physician, tells the reader, Virginius, a noble knight of Old Rome, had the most beautiful daughter anyone could imagine: 7 Fair was this made in excellent beauty Fair was this maid in excellent beauty 8 Above every wight that man may see; Above every person that one may see; 9 For Nature hath with sovereign diligence For Nature has with her greatest diligence 10 Y formed hire in so greet excellence, Formed her in such great excellence, Her name was Virginia, and she was not only beautiful, but also humble, quite, and shy: 50 Hir found eek ful womanly and plan, Her manner of speaking was also very womanly and plain, 51 No countrefeted termes have she No pretentious terms had she 52 To see wy's, but after hir degree To seem wise, but in accordance with her rank in life 53 She say, and alle hire words, moore and lesse, She spoke, and all her words, long speeches and brief, 54 Sownynge in vertu and in gentilesse. In accord with virtue and nobility. 55 Shamefast she was in maidens shamefastnesse, Modest she was in maidenly modesty, 56 Constant in here, and every in busyness Constant in heart, and ever diligent 57 To drive hire out of yes slogardye. To keep herself away from idle sluggishness. She valued her chastity above all, and avoided dances, revels, fests and other public celebrations to prevent herself from any danger of loosing her purity.
There was also a judge, named Appius, who governed in the town the story takes place at. Appius once saw Virginia and started to fantasize about having sex with her. He did not want to earn her consent, though, he was sure he could have Virginia by force. For that purpose, Appius plotted against the young girl with his friend named Claudius.
In Appius court Claudius claims that Virginia is his run-away slave, and that Virginius has stole her. The judge immediately decides that Virginius must hand his daughter over to Claudius. Virginius tells his daughter, there are only two ways to save the situation: shame or death. Virginia chooses the latter, and her father cuts her head off: 254 Hir fader, with ful sorweful here and wil, Her father, with very sorrowful heart and will, 255 Hir heed of smoot, and by the top it here, Struck off her head, and by the hair size it, Then, Virginius brings the head of his dead daughter to Appius, who immediately sentenced Virginius to death as a punishment for this murder.
The people soon realized what had happened, however, and took the judge Appius to jail, where he committed suicide. Claudius was sentenced to death, but Virginius intervened and spared his life, sending him into exile instead. The story-teller ends his passage with a warning, that can be considered the moral of the story: "Forsaketh since, er since yow forsake" (286). The Physician's tale focuses on masculinity and its identity and authority. It is interesting how the author shows that Virginias body, being feminine, is much less important than the control that the masculine has over it: her father, being masculine decided what has to be done with Virginia, Appius, also being masculine decides that he wants that body and that he has to have it even without the girls consent. The readers know that Virginias body was pure.
In the old times, the womans body never belonged to the woman herself: before she got married it belonged to her father, and after the marriage to her husband. So, when Appius desired Virginia, he not only desired to have her body, he also desired to have her fathers noble reputation. Virginius, however, did not let Appius intervene with this reputation and killed Virginia to prevent any threats to it. Once Appius realizes that his masculinity, his efforts to have Virginias body, her femininity failed, his life does not have much sense and he kills himself in shame. Virginius masculinity and nobility are saved and his daughters life does not seem to be a high price to pay for a man to stay masculine in the eyes of that society.
Because Virginius, the knight and Appius, the governor are equal in social status, there is a competition between the men: whose masculinity is greater, who will have control over Virginia. In their time, it seems there is no time for discussions, complaints, no considerations of individual desires to live or die. Despite the fact that Virginia died, the story is not centered on her, it is centered on her father, whose nobility and masculinity wins over Appius power. The conclusion of the story is very unsatisfying to a contemporary reader: it shifts from the Virginias life sacrifice to the villains mistake. The story becomes a moral warning for a man, who plans to rape a daughter of a powerful person that he will be punished, the role of Virginia is completely forgotten. Although it is difficult to date The Physicians Tale precisely, just like most of Chaucer's tales, it is usually regarded as an early work of Chaucer.
It was probably written well before the rest of the Canterbury Tales and that is regarded as a possible reason for it to be somewhat raw and primitive. Some connect the Tales content to certain historical events of Chaucer's time more than to its actual moral meaning. Bibliography: Chaucer, Geoffrey: The Physician's Tale, An Interlinear Translation, The Middle English text is from Larry D. Benson. , Gen. ed. , The Riverside Chaucer, Houghton-Million Company; used with permission of the publisher. web Delany, Sheila. "Politics and the Paralysis of Poetic Imagination in The Physician's Tale. " Studies in the Age of Chaucer (1981): 47 - 60.
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