Abstract:
The love story of Troilus and Criseyde was created in about 1160 by Benoit de Sainte-Maure, who included it as a part of his version of the story of the Trojan War. Benoit's version of the war story, Le Roman de Troie, was based on earlier Latin versions of the story, which, however, contained no reference to the love story. The works that have evolved from Benoit's love story include Boccaccio's II Filostrato, Chaucer's Troilus and criseyde, Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, and Dryden's Troilus and Cressida or The Truth Found Too Late, among others. The list spans more than five hundred years. The love story deals with the series of events leading to the union of the lovers and their subsequent separation. Most critics of the story claim that Criseyde becomes false to Troilus because she is fickle, overly sensual, and indecisive. Few critics have considered how the societal requirements with which a woman in criseyde's position had to conform or the triditionally established hierarchy to which she was sUbject affect her actions. The story, ultimately, becomes a study of the exercise of authority. A recurring theme during the period of history when these stories were being written was a concern for maintaining the status quo in a society that was losing confidence in traditional hierarchy. The authority of the monarch, the authority of the head of a family, and the authority of the head of a household all join forces in the love story to control Criseyde and to make her false. The major culprit in this scheme may well be Troilus, who, because he fails to exercise his authority on her behalf, forces Criseyde into actions that cause her to be judged as a lewd and fickle woman.
