Daniel J. Travanti
English 623
Seminar in Medieval Literature
Fall, 1975
Katherine, by Anya Seton
There are so many characters in Katherine who remind me of people in The Canterbury Tales: I found the Prioress, the Knight (Hugh), Alisoun (Katherine herself), and Constance (reflected again in Katherine, and in Blanchette as well). I liked the wry jokes about Chaucer’s “scurrilous verses” and his “perverse reading and scribbling.”
The quotes from Troilus and “The Knight’s Tale” at the beginnings of the Parts were particularly charming. I enjoyed the familiar elements of the courtly love ritual, and the customs of behavior that we’ve encountered throughout the Tales. Though I found the novel pleasant for all these reasons, I can’t quite formulate a coherent statement about it. Maybe just because I made so many fragmentary connections with our studied works, I’m unable to sum up my impressions.
Mostly, I felt the story was ordinary and the details cliché to me by now, after having seen so many period movies. Dwarfs and court intrigue and banners flying and steeds galloping and ladies swooning and love being deeper than deep and lasting longer than forever. . . well, all right. But I had such fun recognizing and connecting and exclaiming literally out loud for days, things like: “Right:” and “Yeah, sure the Clerk’s Tale:” and “That’s just like. . .”
I suppose that is a summation.