SUMMERS, KAREN CRADY, Ph.D. Reading Incest - The University ...

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pregnant, gives birth on board to a daughter whom he names Thaise, dies, and is buried at
sea. The coffin washes up on the shore of Ephesus, where a doctor examines the body
and realizes that she is not dead but only in a coma. He revives her and she becomes a
priestess of Diana. Apollonius takes his newborn daughter to Tarsus to be fostered by
Strangulio and his wife, who also had a daughter. As the two girls grew up Thaise
surpassed the other girl in loveliness and accomplishment and her mother grew jealous.
Fearing that her daughter would be overlooked she ordered her servant to kill Thaise, but
before he could do so a pirate ship landed and kidnapped her, selling her to a brothel.
She manages to keep her virginity and her virtue and enchants the local prince. Now
Apollonius returns to retrieve Thaise but is told she is dead. In despair he sets sail and
lands at Mytilene, where Thaise has ended up. They meet and he is drawn to the
beautiful young girl. Apollonius’s virtue is tested when he meets and is drawn to the
lovely girl on Mytilene. Thaise is called upon to try to cheer up the unhappy Apollonius
and enters the ship’s hold in which he lies, telling him stories and playing her harp. He
makes no reply,
And in the derke forth sche goth,
Til sche him toucheth, and he wroth,
And after hire with his hond
He smot. (VIII. 1691-4)
The blow that he strikes indicates a natural repulsion against any improper physical
contact. Yet they immediately feel an affinity for each other; here, kynde is at work. The
two feel the bonds of kinship, though they do not consciously know it yet, and this bond
unconsciously causes Apollonius to reject her potentially sexually charged touch. They