Indexers select an article or essay at the beginning of each month that is outstanding in its line of argument, wealth of significances,
and writing style. We particularly look for pieces that will be useful as course readings.
Baechle, Sarah. "Speaking Survival: Chaucer Studies and the Discourses of Sexual Assault." Chaucer Review 57, 4 (2022): 463-474.
Abstract: "This article addresses the discursive perspectives of survivor speech as they inform discussions of Chaucer's rape narratives. Responding to Euan Roger and Sebastian Sobecki's discoveries that the Chaumpaigne release did not address an accusation of rape, I argue that they offer Chaucer scholars a chance to transform our approaches to the poet and the subject of sexual violence. No longer burdened with assessing Chaucer's guilt or Chaumpaigne's victimization, we may adopt, instead, a structural approach, examining how Chaucer's rape narratives reproduce harmful myths about women, sex, consent that perpetuate assault. The article explores the Reeve's Tale as an example of this approach." — [Reproduced from the article page of the Chaucer Review on the Scholarly Publishing Collective website. Also available through Project Muse]