Geoffrey Chaucer's Troilus and Criseide, written almost 600 years ago, continues to delight those who read it and continues to invite new avenues of interpretation.
Among the aspects of the poem which have been carefully studied are the enigma of the heroine's personality and the reasons for her betrayal of Troilus. Critics differ markedly in their opinions on these matters.
My thesis suggests that Chaucer's use of the traditional medieval mirror image helps to clarify Criseide's character and her function within the poem. Criseide reflects a glimpse of an absolute ideal for Troilus; the image is transitory and illusive because it is secular. She also mirrors the ambiguous qualities of human light and darkness.
","abstract_html":"<p>Geoffrey Chaucer's Troilus and Criseide, written almost 600 years ago, continues to delight those who read it and continues to invite new avenues of interpretation.</p> <p>Among the aspects of the poem which have been carefully studied are the enigma of the heroine's personality and the reasons for her betrayal of Troilus. Critics differ markedly in their opinions on these matters.</p> <p>My thesis suggests that Chaucer's use of the traditional medieval mirror image helps to clarify Criseide's character and her function within the poem. Criseide reflects a glimpse of an absolute ideal for Troilus; the image is transitory and illusive because it is secular. She also mirrors the ambiguous qualities of human light and darkness.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Epstein, Helga"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"Master's Thesis","degree_discipline":"Humanities","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1970,"date_issued":"1970-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"1970-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:05:44Z","subjects":["Humanities","Arts and Humanities"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholar.dominican.edu/humanities-print-theses/184","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Epstein, Helga"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Humanities"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Humanities","Arts and Humanities"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholar.dominican.edu/humanities-print-theses/184"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Geoffrey Chaucer's Troilus and Criseide, written almost 600 years ago, continues to delight those who read it and continues to invite new avenues of interpretation.
Among the aspects of the poem which have been carefully studied are the enigma of the heroine's personality and the reasons for her betrayal of Troilus. Critics differ markedly in their opinions on these matters.
My thesis suggests that Chaucer's use of the traditional medieval mirror image helps to clarify Criseide's character and her function within the poem. Criseide reflects a glimpse of an absolute ideal for Troilus; the image is transitory and illusive because it is secular. She also mirrors the ambiguous qualities of human light and darkness.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Mirror Imagery in Chaucer's Trolius and Criseide"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Epstein, Helga"],"dc:description.abstract":["Geoffrey Chaucer's Troilus and Criseide, written almost 600 years ago, continues to delight those who read it and continues to invite new avenues of interpretation.
Among the aspects of the poem which have been carefully studied are the enigma of the heroine's personality and the reasons for her betrayal of Troilus. Critics differ markedly in their opinions on these matters.
My thesis suggests that Chaucer's use of the traditional medieval mirror image helps to clarify Criseide's character and her function within the poem. Criseide reflects a glimpse of an absolute ideal for Troilus; the image is transitory and illusive because it is secular. She also mirrors the ambiguous qualities of human light and darkness.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholar.dominican.edu/humanities-print-theses/184"],"dc:subject":["Humanities","Arts and Humanities"],"dc:title":["Mirror Imagery in Chaucer's Trolius and Criseide"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Humanities"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:05:44Z"}