Lady Fortune and her wheel are two of the most enduring symbols in mankind's history. Witness the popular game show, Wheel of Fortune. While it may seem silly, it proves that something of this concept has stayed with in our psyche, even today. The question of fortune is paramount is Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde. Chaucer gives the reader characters with completely conflicting ideas of Lady Fortune and her affect on their lives. By examining Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy, the reader can hope to find an answer for these differing views on fortune. Firstly, Boethius's influence on Chaucer and the persona of Fortune that he presents must be examined. Once this is established as a benchmark, the reader can fully understand the misconceptions Troilus has regarding fortune. Troilus clings, as Boethius does in his Consolation of Philosophy, to the memory of his faithful service to Fortune. Finally, the character of Pandarus must be addressed. He, of all Chaucer's chara!

cters, has a firm grip on the reality of the Lady Fortune and her ever-changing nature. In fact, a close examination of the text of Troilus and Criseyde will show that

In Book IV, Pandarus again counsels Troilus on Fortune. However, now Fortune has turned her face away from Troilus. He says:

"If no love is, O good, what fele I so?

What have I don? What have I thus agylt?

Next comes the defense of Fortune by herself. Her argument is simple: I have only taken back what was mine in the first place. "Inconstancy is my very essence," she says, "it is the game I never cease to play as I turn my wheel in its ever changing circle, filled with joy as I bring the top to the bottom and the bottom to the top. Yes, rise up on my wheel if you like, but don't count it an injury when by the same token you begin to fall, as the rules of the game will require" (Consolation, p. 57). Boethius has no grounds for his complaints because everything he has ever had was given to him by Fortune. If she decides to take it back, it is her prerogative. This should not send him to the pits of despair. "Indeed, my very mutability gives you just cause to hope for better things," Fortune tells Boethius (58). Just as the wheel has borne him down, so can it bear him back up to better things.

Chaucer, Geoffrey. Troilus and Criseyde. Ed. Larry Benson The Riverside Chaucer.. Boston: The Houghton Mifflin Company. 1987. P. 471-585.

Paraunter thow hast cause for to synge" (I.841-54).

The same points of argument are reiterated here in Chaucer's own words. Pandarus is saying the exact same things as Lady Philosophy's argument. Fortune is the same to every man. The joys she brings may pass away, but so will the sorrows. Her wheel cannot stop. She would cease to be fortune. The reader can see the direct correlation between Boethius's work and Pandarus's words.

"Who woulde have wende that in so litel a throwe

To ben to me thus cruwel and unkynde?" (IV, 260-266).

While it may have been Fortune's doing that Criseyde is apart from Troilus, she understands at once the gravity of the situation she is in and takes steps to rectify it. This shows that she understand that the world is inconstant.

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Approximate Word count = 2445
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)