Troilus and Criseyde

Poetry | Geoffrey Chaucer
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Can we consider Criseyde a betrayer?

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Can we consider Criseyde a betrayer? [2021] ✪✪✪

Geoffrey Chaucer's (1340-1400) "Troilus and Criseyde" (1385) is a love tragedy of fate, fortune, and faithlessness. In the poem, Criseyde is a woman of charm and intelligence. Yet, her actions in the latter part make readers question her loyalty and truth in love.

Promise and Parting- Beginning of Doubt: Criseyde loves Troilus, the prince of Troy. When her father, Calchas, moves to the Greek camp, she stays in Troy. But later, the Greeks and Trojans exchanged captives. They forced her to go to the enemy camp. Before leaving, she promises to return within ten days. Yet, when she reaches the Greek camp, her courage weakens. Her promise fades. This is the first shadow of betrayal.

Love Turns to Diomede- The Real Betrayal: In the Greek camp, Diomede, a Greek warrior, meets her. He wins her heart with sweet words and kindness. Troilus dreams of this moment:

“And by this boor, faste in his armes folde,  

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Lay kissing ay his lady bright Criseyde:”

(And beside this boar, holding her tightly in his arms,

lay his lady fair, Criseyde, whom he kept kissing again and again.)

This dream becomes true. Criseyde gives Diomede a brooch given by Troilus. Later, it is seen on Diomede’s coat. This proves her change of heart. Chaucer shows that Criseyde’s love is not constant; it bends with time and situation.

Weakness, Not Wickedness- A Human Betrayal: Still, Chaucer does not paint Criseyde as a villain. She is a victim of circumstance. Alone among enemies, she tries to survive. Her betrayal is not from cruelty but from fear and human frailty. Chaucer writes her with sympathy, not anger. She cries, she regrets, but cannot return.

So yes, Criseyde can be called a betrayer, but not a heartless one. She breaks her promise, yet her betrayal is born of fear, fate, and weakness, not deceit. Chaucer’s Criseyde is a mirror of real humanity, loving, weak, and tragic at once.

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Geoffrey Chaucer
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