Volu m e II - Purdue University Calumet

fiercely and relentlessly, discusses with Boethius the importance of his recognition that God’s will is
omniscient. At the outset of their discourse, Philosophy remarks, “You have forgotten your own identity…
Forgetting who you are has made you confused… You believe that the changes of fortune which have
befallen you are random and unguided” (Boethius 17). It is Philosophy’s aim to aid Boethius, and her
straightforward means of addressing his symptoms reinforces her credibility with her pupil.
Pandarus, on the other hand, coddles Troilus throughout the poem’s entirety with his foul
ministrations, a deliberate inversion of the person and personage of Lady Philosophy. His affiliation with
Troilus is based in a plethora of immoralities, the greatest of which is his willingness to compromise his
niece’s honor in order to provide Troilus with sexual satisfaction. For Pandarus, his role as “physician” to
Troilus’ “patient” revolves solely around Troilus’ attainment of Criseyde; indeed, he provides no
philosophical insights on life, unlike Philosophy, who does so repeatedly with Boethius. According to F.
Anne Payne in her book, Chaucer and Menippean Satire, Pandarus lacks the moral core necessary to provide
insight to his “patient.” She writes, “The speeches that Chaucer gives to Pandarus… ignore the whole
universe of moral structures, all the implications and complexities that surround these passages in the
Consolation…” (Payne 98). While Pandarus may believe that he is helping Troilus, Payne makes it evident
that Chaucer deliberately gives Pandarus speeches that are, in fact, totally meaningless or morally
detrimental. Pandarus’ lack of morals essentially renders him an unreliable and incapable physician.
Moreover, Pandarus fails in all aspects as an advisor to Troilus when he fails to sympathize with Troilus’
distress at his loss of Criseyde. Instead of consoling him as a logical friend might, Pandarus rants about all of
the other women that Troilus could possess. Pandarus is both amoral and obtuse, and as Payne points out
above, he is unable, because of these flaws, to provide Troilus with any complex, rational, or even
thoughtful insights. In Book Four, Pandarus exclaims, “This town is ful of ladys al aboute; / And, to my
doom, fairer than swiche twelve / As ere she was” (Chaucer IV. 401-403). This blatant disregard for
Troilus’ sorrow reinforces Pandarus’ unsuitability as a mentor; moreover, Troilus’ ignorance and gullibility
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