the prior root

8/13/2019 The Prior Root

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The Prior Root: The Transit Through Hebrew in

The Prioresss Tale

Gila Aloni, Florida International University

Shirley Sharon-Zisser, Tel Aviv University

Introduction

The description of the table manners of the Prioress in the "General Prolo!e" to The

Canterbury Talesproceeds by neations

She leet nomorsel from hir lippes falle,

Ne#ete hir fynres in hir sa!ce depe$%el &o!de she carie a morsel and #el &epe

nodrope ne fille !pon hir brest'

(A )*+*, our emphasis.)The Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer' All references are to this edition'

/iverside0

1lose'

These statements of neation declare at least as m!ch as they conceal' They referenceco!rtly decor!m, yet brin !p the imaes of the rotes2!e behavior they deny'

1lassical rhetoric calls s!ch statements dissim!lations (1icero '*3.' Psychoanalysis

calls them disavo#als (4aplanche and Pontalis ))+ 3.'

5isavo#als "affirm the la#s they neate" (Sibony,Le nom et le corps6).' At the

same time, they "affirm another la# or another relationship to a la#" (6).' This

relationship often rests on the all!re of #hat is denied, and its ret!rn via the "frontiers

of the !nconscio!s" (63.' The psycho-rhetorical str!ct!re of dissim!lation and7as

denial, #e #ill ar!e, is the &ey to 1ha!cer8sPrioress Tale' The tale8s declared

meanin, its anti-9e#ish narratio, conceals or declares a more comple: attit!de to the

relation bet#een 9!daism and 1hristianity'
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from the fate of death to #hich he condemned the firstborn sons of their yptian

oppressors, and !sherin in their passin thro!h the desert (:od!s )*)))*.' The

hostCs call to "passe over" in the transition from the ShipmanCs to the PrioressCs tales

introd!ces a biblicalUnli&e most readers of the tale, #ho have follo#ed its all!sions to 1hristian so!rces,

Archeridentifies an @ld Testament all!sion (to the fratricide of Abel by 1ain. in thetale (>+.' Schoec&too has noticed 1ha!cerCs te:t, despite the larin anti-9!daism of

its narratio, is "rich in imaesfrom the @ld Testament (*>B.' Archer and Schoec& do

not p!rs!e the sinificance of the @ldTestament all!sions they identify in the tale, and

specifically their f!nctions as an inscription of anattit!de to biblical ?ebre# as

archaic mother-ton!e at the te:tCs !nconscio!s &ernel'

1loseinterte:t the first Passover and the conse2!ent transition of the ancient people

of Israel from ypt to the 4and of Israel'

The introd!ction of the biblical interte:t of a story of transition into the

transition bet#een the ShipmanCs and the PrioressCs tales selfrefle:ively hihlihts

the stat!s of this te:t as a (te:t!al. transition #ithin a (spatial. transition bet#een t#o

places the inn #hich the pilrims leave and 1anterb!ry' The hostCs call to "passe

over" s!ests a parallelism bet#een 1ha!cerCs pilrims on their #ay to 1anterb!ry

and the Israelites on their #ay to the 4and of Israel' The 1hristian pilrims and the

ancient 9e#s are made parallel by their positionin in a sit!ation of transit'

In the transition, the pilrimsC stat!s of bein in transit is accent!ated' In the

artic!lation beinnin #ith the reference to "passe overH, the host refers to the

pilrims as "this ro!te" ( )=>., as bein on the ro!te, en ro!te, in transit' Thisreference introd!ces a pervasive so!ndpattern involvin the consonants "r" and "tH'

These letters feat!re in the references to passin "th!rh" ( )=+, )6+, )6>), )+3>.'

They feat!re in the #ord "roote" ( )==


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Pentecost, at the end of a seven-#ee& transition beinnin at the end of the feast of

Passover the host implicitly all!des to'

4i&e the story of the e:od!s of the people of Israel from ypt, #here they #ere in

e:ile, to Israel, the story of the oo& of /!th involves a transition from the land of

Israel to another co!ntry (;oab. and bac&' In both cases, the co!ntry ret!rned to is

the co!ntry of oriin of the people of Israel, their eoraphical "root'" In 1ha!cerCs

te:t, the #ord "roote" refers to mother ;ary' In the oo& of /!th too the land of

Israel as oriin or root is maternalied' Israel is the co!ntry of /!thCs motherinla#,

Laomi, #ith #hom /!th chooses to lin& her fate ())=.' /!th is a maternal root in

another sense too' At the end of the oo&, she is prono!nced to be "as /achel and

4eah #ho had b!ilt the nation of Israel" (>)).' She is alined #ith the matriarchs, the

maternal roots of the people of Israel' She becomes one of the foremothers of one of

the most famo!s biblical &ins of Israel, Min 5avid' Accordin to 9!daic and

1hristian tradition, Min 5avid is one of the ancestors of the ;essiah=See the chronoloy stretchin from Abraham, thro!h /!th8s h!sband oa, thro!h

Min5avid, to 1hrist, in the first verses of the Le# Testament (;atthe# )))6.'

1lose' /!th is part of the maternal root of the redeemer'

Root% &reast% &resit

The iss!e of oriin or root is inscribed in the tale by means of the repetition of "r" and"t," and by means of the combination of these t#o consonants #ith another one "s'"

The first instance of the alliteration of these three consonants in relation to the Tale is

in the hostCs statement in the transition, in the #ord "first," a sinifier of root or oriin

( )=>.' The second occ!rrence of the "rst" combination too has everythin to do

#ith maternal oriin it is the reference to the &no#lede of the Nirin ;ary

sometimes bein apparent to children "on the brestso!&yne" ( )=>+.6See ;arvinCs observation "the Nirin ;ary is clearly lin&ed #ith the beinnin state

of lan!ae-learnin" as "intercessor and mediatri:" (>3.'

1lose' The first t#o ina!!ral instances of the "rst" combination in relation to ThePrioressCs Tale occ!r in sinifiers semantically related to oriin a sinifier of

n!meroloical and temporal priority, and a sinifier of the primal oral obDect, the

motherCs breast, #hose f!nction of psychic priority as the most primal obDect of need

is thereby !nderscored'

In the tale, the "rst" combination appears a n!mber of times, almost al#ays in relation

to 1hrist or 1hristianity ( )=6B, )=+=, )+>*, )+>=.' The one instance in

#hich this combination occ!rs in a different conte:t in the tale is the reference to

"@!re firstfoo, the serpent Sathanas, hath in 9!es herte his #aspes nest" ( )6>6>B.'

In this case, as in the transition, the "rst" combination appears in a semantic referenceto temporal priority' In this case, the temporal priority in 2!estion is of enmity to
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1hristianity' @n the s!rface of semantic meanin, this phrase involves a contrast

bet#een 1hristianity and 9!daism as its "foo"+See /!datCs comments on the echoes in this passae of the (pop!lar. medieval

conception ofSatan as the primal ancestor of 9!daism as the enemy of 1hristianity

()*.

1lose' Oet the appearance of the "rst" pattern reserved almost invariably to 1hrist

and 1hristianity in a reference to an entity semantically declared to be their adversary

s!ests an affinity rather than a contrast bet#een the reliionsBThis affinity is reinforced by the implicit all!sion to the 1ain and Abel story in

)6=+ noted byArcher' The implication of this all!sion is the 9e#sC m!rder of the

1hristian child is an act offratricide, of &in by &in, rather than, as the reference to

9e#s as the "fooJsK" of 1hristianity ()6>+. implies, of &in by one #ho is opposed to

&in'

1lose'

The s!ested affinity bet#een 9!daism and 1hristianity is an effect of the

f!nction of "rst" in the transition and the Prolo!e too' The #ords in #hich the

consonants "rst " appear refer in the first instance to a member of the ro!p of

1hristian pilrims, in the second to 1hristian children' In ?ebre#, these consonants,

!sed here to sinify temporal priority, are the last letters of the alphabet (QR.' ?ere

too, 9!daism and 1hristianity appear to be at odds' The combination of consonants

sinifyin priority in nlish, the 1hristian lan!ae of 1ha!cerCs te:t, is the

se2!ence endin the alphabet of the 9!daic lan!ae, ?ebre#' Oet the same se2!ence

of letters has a f!ndamental relation to primacy in ?ebre#' The first #ord in the?ebre# ible, sinifyin absol!te cosmic beinnin, is QR (bresit. Jin the

beinninK (Genesis )).' resit is the title of the boo& of Genesis in ?ebre#'

1ha!cer #o!ld have &no#n this as the N!late habit!ally printed the ?ebre# names

of boo&s alonside their 4atin titles' St' 9eromeCs ?ebraicae Vvaestiones in 4ibro

Geneseos #o!ld have told him this ?ebre# #ord is the first #ord in the ible (., the

#ord translated in the N!late as "in principioH' In ?ebre#, the "rst" sinifies

alphabetical endin and, at the same time, absol!te priority'

The most psychically chared artic!lation of priority in 1ha!cerCs te:t the

reference to ;aryCs name as &no#n even to children "on the brestso!&yne" (

)=>+. involves an almost e:act transliteration of the ?ebre# #ord for cosmic

oriin, bresit' ;aternal oriin, the breast as primal oral obDect, cosmic oriin, and

?ebre# become conflated as the oriin of the cateory 1ha!cerCs tale itself

rec!rrently artic!lates by means of the "rst" combination 1hrist, #hom St' 9eromeCs

interpretation names as the implicit referent of the #ord bresit (.'

The semiotics of 1ha!cerCs te:t conflate the f!nctions of mother and son' This

conflation is doctrinaire' In patristic theoloy, the ?oly Spirit is the maternal aspect

of the Trinity, a f!nction for #hich Peter of ath finds evidence in the "enere

feminino" of the ?ebre# #ord for spirit, WXR (r!aCh. (+>).' In patristic theoloy, Son
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and ;other, the "feminine" aspect of the Trinity (Peter of ath +>)., are facets of one

divine s!bstance (+>.)3See Peter of ath8s statement "Pater est 5e!s, Fili!s est 5e!s, Spirit!s sanct!s est

5e!s" (+>.in the same te:t in #hich he e:po!nds the nat!re of the ?oly Spirit as the

;other of 1hrist (+>).'

1lose' In 1ha!cerCs te:t, the maternal f!nction is not !ne2!ivocally filled only by the

maternal fi!res mentioned in the te:tCs semantic s!rface the Nirin ;ary, the

";ooder ;ayde" mentioned in the prolo!e to the tale ( )=


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people, named "c!rsed fol&of ?erodes" J )6=>K, #ho become defined by their

enocidal attit!de to 1hristians, inreinforcement of the taleCs artic!lation of the

pop!lar hostility to#ard 9e#s' @n the pop!lar imaeof ?erod as stereotypical

bloodthirsty 9e# see ?amilton >'1lose 1hrist as An!s 5ei, the sacrificial 4amb of God (Apocalypse )> )6


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the innocents are connected phonically and alphabetically too' The innocents said to

accompany the "#hite 4amb celestial" #ith #hom the child is identified are described

as sinin "a son al ne,e, 7 J[K nevere, flesshly, #ommen they ne &ne,e" ()66>

6


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#ord ov!m JeK #hose dative and ablative pl!ral form, ovis, is identical in spellin

#ith the sinification St' 9erome, the architect of the N!late, ives to the ?ebre#

name /achel ovis, e#e' 1ombinin phonic, alphabetical, and etymoloical

resonances standin at the intersection of t#o reliions (9!daism and 1hristianity.

and three lan!aes (the ?ebre# of the 9!daic reliion, the 1hristian ton!es of 4atin

and nlish., the semiotics of 1ha!cerCs te:t lin& rather than oppose "9e#es" andtheir alleedly "ne#e" 1hristian s!ccessors' oth 1hristians and 9e#s are

concept!ally, phonically, and alphabetically str!ct!red by the v!lnerable, potentially

sacrificial f!nction of e#es #ho are the offsprin of a e#e, a /achel, #hose psychic

f!nction as the ovis, the ovarian, the maternal, c!ts across distinctions bet#een

reliions and lan!aes, bet#een a privileed "I" and a debased "yo!'" The semiotics

of 1ha!cerCs te:t bespea& #hat 9ohn ?irsch artic!lated years ao #itho!t havin

specific reco!rse to them "JfKinally #e are all 9e#s" (>)., in #hat is o!r most primal

constit!tion as h!man beins, o!r bein born to mothers'

Domine dominus noster:

The Name of the Christian Father?

The only fathers mentioned in the tale are symbolic fathers, f!lfillers of the paternal

f!nction of the imposition of la#)>See 4acan8s definition of the symbolic father as a f!nction in the symbolic order

#hose role isto impose la# and re!late desire in 4e S\minaire IN )=)'

1lose' The first symbolic father mentioned in the tale is the "provost" ( )+)B. as

representative of "the la#e" ( )+*>. on the force of #hich the 9e#s fo!nd !ilty of

the m!rder of the child are haned' The second is the "abbot" ( )+*6., the father of a

"covent" ( )+*6. a representative of the la# of (God. the Father' In both cases, the

symbolic fathers are aents of the 1hristian symbolic order' The t#o references to

symbolic fathers in the Tale are not complemented by any reference to a real father'

The child in the taleCs narratio is sinificantly fatherless' ?is first characteriation in

the tale is as "a #yd#eCs sone" ( )=B*., one #ho lac&s a real father'

The references to fathers, real or symbolic, are far o!tn!mbered by references tomothers and to the maternal' esides the #ido#, the childCs real mother, the tale is

replete #ith references to the archetypal mother of the 1hristian imainary mother

;ary)


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It brins into play the archaic ?ebraic aspect of /achelCs name, e#e' The rec!rrent

alliteration of the "rt" so!nd pattern in the tale implicitly introd!ces into it another

archaic ?ebraic mother /!th' The /!th interte:t brins another s!ch ?ebraic mother

into 1ha!cerCs Tale /!thCs 9!daic mother-in-la#, Laomi'

The ?ebraic story of /!th and Laomi ives the ;arioloical dimension of thetale a different inflection' ;ary, the archetypal 1hristian mother, and Laomi, the

archaic 9!daic mother of the oo& of /!th, are lin&ed by phonic resonance and

psychic f!nction' At the end of the first chapter of the oo& of /!th, Laomi renames

herself, beca!se of her harsh fate, ";ara" Jin ?ebre#, bitterK' She says "Le vocetis

me Loemi (id est, p!lchram., sed vocate me ;ara (id est, amaram., 2!ia amarit!dine

valde replevit me @mnipotens" J5o not call me Laomi, call me ;ara, for God has

made my life replete #ith bitternessK ()*3.' The ne# name Laomi ives herself is

close in so!nd to the name of ;ary' It is also close to the name of ;ary as interpreted

in the patristic tradition' The N!late provided its readers #ith a parenthetical

e:plication of the sinification of the ?ebre# name ;ara amarit!dine, bitterness'

The same e:plication appears in St' 9eromeCs e:eeses, in his ?ebraicvm Lominvm(fre2!ently attached to the N!late., of the name of the biblical ";ariams" the

sister of ;oses in the @ld Testament and the mother of 1hrist in the Le# Testament'

@ne of the (incorrect. interpretations St' 9erome offers for the name of ;ariam in the

oo& of :od!s is "amarit!do" JbitternessK (6=., the e:plication the N!late correctly

ives to the name ";ara" in the oo& of /!th' @ne of his interpretations of the name

of 1hristCs mother in the Gospel of ;atthe# is practically identical "amar!m mare"

Jbitter seaK ()6.' In the patristic tradition at the c!lt!ral bac&drop of 1ha!cerCs tale, a

9!daic mother of the @ld Testament and the archetypal 1hristian mother of the Le#

Testament are lin&ed #ith one another phonically and e:eetically' The tale itself,

#hich e:plicitly and fre2!ently all!des to ;ary and implicitly invo&es the @ld

Testament interte:t tellin the story of Laomi7;ara, forero!nds this lin& bet#een

1hristian and 9!daic mothers' %hat are the concept!al conse2!ences of this lin& for

the inscription of ?ebraism and 9!daism in 1ha!cerCs seeminly anti-9!daic Tale0 An

e:amination of the semiotics of maternality in the /!th interte:t s!ests some

intri!in ans#ers'

The /!th interte:t resonates in 1ha!cerCs Tale in terms of narrative str!ct!re

and phonic resonance' The psychic relation on #hich the oo& of /!th is predicated

is identical to the psychic relation s!btendin 1ha!cerCs Tale, maternal filiation'

Altho!h /!th is not, bioloically spea&in, LaomiCs da!hter, Laomi addresses

/!th, her da!hterinla#, as "filia mea" Jmy da!hterK (*.' This follo#s /!thCsconscio!s choice to adopt Laomi as her mother' This choice is more than personal' It

involves /!thCs adoption of LaomiCs national and reliio!s identity' /!th famo!sly

says to Laomi "#herever yo! #ill o I shall o, and #here yo! shall reside I shall

reside, yo!r people is my people and yo!r God my God" ())=.'

In the oo& of /!th, 9!daism is identified as the reliion of the mother rather

than of the father (#ho is literally absent from the tale, D!st as is the childCs real father

in the PrioressCs Tale.' The space of 9!daism in the oo& of /!th is concept!ally

maternal it is the field of #heat, the domain of pastoral as archaic in the most literal

sense of the rains of #heat, the root of the most basic n!tritive s!bstance' The oo&

of /!th, then, has to do #ith 9!daism as archaic, maternal root'


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1ha!cer implicitly introd!ces the /!th interte:t #ith a vie# to the notion of

9!daism as maternal root inscribed in it' This is evident in the mention of maternality

as root in the prolo!e to the Tale' In the prolo!e, #hose s!rface meanin is a praise

of the mother ;ary, ;ary is described as "the roote 7 @f bo!ntee" ( )=


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noster is positively inverted' This credo becomes not a criticism of 9!daism as an

adversary of 1hristianity, b!t a forero!ndin of the common prior root of 9!daism

and 1hristianity' 1ha!cerCs citation of the 5omine domin!s noster forero!nds #hat

is implicit in the te:ts of the Pa!line theoloians the idea #hether conceived of as a

!nity or a trinity, the God of 1hristians and the God of the ?ebraic people is one and

the same God' This idea of the commonality of God p!ts the last #ord of the citedverse, the Hnoster" Jo!rsK into 2!estion' Lo reliion, and no people, this idea s!ests,

can claim God as solely their o#n' Instead, ?e is a s!bstance in #hich different

reliions participate, transferentially interactin as they do so'

The 4atin "noster" p!t into 2!estion incl!des the same ro!p of consonants,

"rst," sinifyin, in ?ebre# (alphabetical. endin and absol!te oriin (brest7bresit.'

Oet in this case, the consonants appear in a different order' The consonant appearin

first in the order of the ?ebre# alphabet, "r," becomes last' This reversal of order

reinforces the conflation of endin and beinnin inscribed into the ?ebre# "rst," a

conflation ma&in it impossible to privilee either #hat comes first or #hat comes

second, ma&in it imperative to see both as e2!al lin&s in a potentially endless

participatory chain'

The "str" combination has another f!nction' It f!nctions as a cl!e to the

dissim!lational str!ct!re of 1ha!cerCs te:t' This combination of consonants appears

one more time in the prolo!e, in the #ord "storie" ( )=.'

@n the basis of this root, Isidore (#ronly b!t sinificantly. losses the biblical name

of sther as absconsa JhiddenK (6'+'3.' The #ord "storie," therefore, points to #hat ishidden as #ell as #hat is told' This s!ests the taleCs "storie" of the rit!al m!rder of

a 1hristian child by 9e#s, reinforced by the declaration of appropriation of God by

1hristianity hides or de-clares a different te:t' 1ha!cerCs hidden te:t stresses the

commonality of 9!daism and 1hristianity, their bein lin&s in a transferential chain

stretchin to the same prior root)=%e aree #ith 5aniel F' PiCs claim that #hile one cannot "dismiss the

importance ofcondemnin the PrioressCs form of preD!dice [ anti-Semitism is only a

peripheral concern" in thetale (==.'

1lose'

"m+or .incit m+nia% "m+en

The transferential maternal chain posited by 1ha!cerCs tale points to ?ebre#

as oriin or prior root' Oet this does not mean 1ha!cerCs te:t posits oriin as a stable

endin point #hich co!ld ever be reached' 1ha!cerCs te:t post!lates the prior root as

a point of orientation #hich the "synf!l fol& !nstable" mentioned at the end of the tale

( )+66. al#ays see&' The prior root is #hat "!nstable," constit!tively incomplete

s!bDects necessarily pass thro!h in their acts of see&in'
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Since the prior in this te:t is transcoded #ith ?ebre#, ?ebre# too ains the

semiotic val!e of a prior root #hich is not the obDect of nostalic fascination b!t is a

medi!m of an infinite, never-endin transit' ?ebraism in 1ha!cerCs te:t has the

character 5aniel Sibony #o!ld attrib!te to all reliions the character of bein

"al#ays in passae," in an act of passae f!nctionin as a "!mbilical," a "matri: of

Do!issance," thro!h #hich a ro!p (ever "!nstable" as is the ro!p of 1hristianse:plicitly desinated by 1ha!cer., contin!o!sly "ives birth to itself" (Perversions

=6=+.'

1ha!cerCs te:t ac&no#ledes this condition of perpet!al see&in' The hostCs

artic!lation of the imperative to "passe over" #hich brins in the first biblical

interte:t of transit is immediately s!cceeded by an imperative to "se&e abo!te" for

another narrator ( )=.' In the tale, the boyCs mother is t#ice described as havin

"soht" him ( )6+3, )6+B.' The condition of see&in feat!res prominently in the @ld

Testament story of the people of IsraelCs transit thro!h the desert' The medieval

1hristian e:eetes e:po!nd the #ords referencin see&in in the ible' St' 9eromeCs

?ebraicvm Lominvm incl!des references to #ords of the ?ebre# ible translated as

see&in or e:ploration "Thares e:ploratores lactitiae' Thara e:ploratores odoris si!e

e:ploratio adscensionis !el pastio" (6.$ "Thermad e:ploratio redemtionis ''' Tharsis

e:ploratio a!dii" ()).' In all these cases, a verb meanin to e:plore or see& is

(correctly. pointed o!t as the translation of ?ebre# #ords incl!din the consonants

"t" and "r" the same consonants str!ct!rin the many references to transit in the

tale' The several references in the tale and the transition leadin to it to acts of

see&in intensify the alliteration of "t" and "r" feat!rin in the tale mostly in

references to transits' This creates a concept!al lin& bet#een the act of transit and the

act of see&in' The alliteration of rCs and tCs in 1ha!cerCs te:t has another f!nction' It

brins into play the ?ebre# name of the biblical te:t itself Torah, e:plicitlymentioned by Isidore in his tymoloiarvm as the name the "?ebraei" ive to the

"libri ;oysis" Jthe oo&s of ;osesK (=')'


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intellect!als the lin& bet#een those cateories and the ?ebre# lan!ae' The state of

traversin, of bein in transit, li&e the people of Israel in the desert after the first

Passover on their #ay to the Promised 4and, and li&e 1ha!cerCs pilrims on their #ay

to 1anterb!ry, is inscribed into the name of the people of Israel and of their lan!ae'

The root of the #ord "?ebre#," R_ JivritK, is identical #ith the root of the #ord

!sed in the oo& of :od!s to describe GodCs #rathf!l transit thro!h the land ofypt R_ JavarK' The cateory of transit resonatin so po#erf!lly in 1ha!cerCs te:t,

phonically and concept!ally, resonates #ith the name of the ?ebre# lan!ae'

?ebre# becomes implicitly inscribed in 1ha!cerCs te:t as the !mbilical site of transit,

of an oriin never arrived at b!t al#ays passed thro!h by the 1hristian "fol&" in the

al#ays already "!nstable" transit in #hich it ives birth to itself'

;edieval e:eetes s!ch as Isidore and St' 9erome #ere a#are of the

etymoloical and concept!al lin&s bet#een the cateories of ?ebre# and of passin

or traversin' The reference in Genesis )>) to Abraham as R_` R JAvram ha

ivriK, translated in the N!late as "Abram ?ebraeo," is lossed by St' 9erome as

"Aheberim ?ebraeor!m !el transe!nti!m" J?ebre#s and people in transitK

(?ebraicvm Lominvm 6.' St' 9erome references this lin& else#here as #ell

"0brioth transit!s" (6>. and ""barim in transit!" (6B.' In his ?ebre# V!estions on

the oo& of Genesis, St' 9erome says e:plicitly "in place of #hat #e have p!t as the

passerby is #ritten in the ?ebre# ibri for this #ord means passer-by" (>=>6.'

Isidore too losses the Genesis reference to Abraham as "?eber transit!s" (6'='*.'

For St' 9erome and Isidore, as for 1ha!cer #ho most li&ely had access to their te:ts,

the notion of ?ebre# #as lin&ed #ith transit or passin (Sibony, 4e nom et le corps

>).' In 1ha!cerCs PrioressCs Tale, root as oriin and as root as ro!te, #hat is passedthro!h, are intimately related' /oot as oriin and as ro!te are intimately related #ith

the story of /!th, of the passae, thro!h maternal affiliation, from non9!daism to

9!daism, and, thro!h the Gospel of ;atthe#, from 9!daism to the 9!daicbased

1hristianity of ;ary' This is a story of a potentially endless chain of maternal

transference)6%e disaree #ith ;arvinCs concl!sion the tale posits a radical schism bet#een the

"maternalspace" he correctly identifies #ithin it (>*>. and perceives, as does this

article, as inscribed inits deployment of phonic resonances, and the "heavily symbolic

#orld" of its narratio (>+.' Failinto see this narratio f!nctions in the Tale as a cover

of empty speech for a more comple: !nconscio!str!th inscribed in its vario!s stable

forms, incl!din phonic resonances, ;arvin disappointinlyoverloo&s the TaleCsoverdetermined emphasis on transitionality as an al#ays present lin& #ith thematernal

#hich he claims to have been lost #ithin it'

1lose' Given the transcodin, in 1ha!cerCs te:t, of ?ebraism, transferential love, and

openended, potentially infinite transitiveness, it is hardly s!rprisin the incantatory

motto #ith #hich the PrioressCs Tale ends, the "AmenH, f!nctions not, as is c!stomary

to read it, as a mar& of clos!re, b!t rather as an openin !p into the maternal'

Altho!h this #ord is artic!lated in 1ha!cerCs te:t in the conte:t of an apostrophe to

the 1hristian God, son of "mooder ;arie" ()++3., it is, sinificantly, a ?ebre# #ord'

This #ord, as 5aniel Sibony points o!t, "retains a maternal accent" in its resonance ofthe ?ebre# sinifier for mother, "em" (4Camo!r inconscient *6B.' "Amen" is not a
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15/17

sinifier affirmin clos!re' Instead, in partic!lar at the end of 1ha!cerCs te:t in #hich

its maternal and ?ebraic resonances are overdeterminately bro!ht into play, it

f!nctions as #hat Sibony calls a !mbilic!s (*6B., a mode of appeal and connection to

a maternal oriin #hich can never be reached and m!st al#ays be deployed,

redeployed, passed thro!h' This appeal ta&es place, the semiotics of 1ha!cerCs tale

s!est, in the conte:t of a participatory interaction #herein, as the title of /!pertiCst#elfthcent!ry treatise (5ialo!s Inter 1hristian!m et 9!dae!m. p!ts it, 1hristianity

is in inter-active, dialoic interaction #ith 9!daism-2!a-archaic ?ebraism, an

interaction that allo#s and compels it to constantly neotiate its o#n c!lt!ral identity

in a loo&in bac& to an oriin proDected into its present and open-ended f!t!re'

Works Cited

Alain de 4ille' 5e fide catolica' Patroloia 4atina' d' 9' P' ;ine' Paris Garnier,

)+6B' Nol' *)3' 3=>)>'

Archer, 9ohn' "The Str!ct!re of Anti-Semitism in The PrioressCs Tale'" The 1ha!cer

/evie# )B') ()B+>. >='

oethi!s' Theoloical Tractates and the 1onsolation of Philosophy' d' ?'F' Ste#art

and 'M' /and' 1ambride 4oeb 1lassical 4ibrary, )B)+'

re#er, 5ere& S' "1hildren in 1ha!cer'" /evie# of nlish St!dies < ()B=>. B'

1ha!cer, Geoffrey' The /iverside 1ha!cer' d' 4arry 5' enson' Le# Oor&

?o!hton ;ifflin, )B+6'1ollette, 1arolyn P' "Sense and Sensibility in The PrioressCs Tale'" 1ha!cer /evie#

) ()B6+. >==*'

Friedman, Albert ' "The PrioressCs Tale and 1ha!cerCs Anti-Semitism'" 1ha!cer

/evie# B'* ()B6>.))+*B'

' "The ;ysterio!s GreynC in The PrioressCs Tale'" 1ha!cer /evie# ))'> ()B6=.

*+'

Frit, 5onald %' "The PrioressCs Avo#al of Ineptit!de'" 1ha!cer /evie# B'* ()B6>.

)==+)'

Go!:, 9ean9oseph' Symbolic conomies After ;ar: and Fre!d' Trans' 9ennifer

1!rtiss Gae' Ithaca 1ornell University Press, )BB>'

?amilton, ;arie Padett' "choes of 1hildermas in the Tale of the Prioress'" ;4/

>') ()BB.)+'


16/17

?ermann!s the 9e#' 5e S!a 1onversione' Patroloia 4atina' d' 9'P' ;ine' Paris

Garnier' Nol' )63' +3'

4acan, 9ac2!es' Seminar I Fre!dCs Papers on Techni2!e' Trans' 9ohn Forrester' Le#Oor& Lorton, )BB)'

' 4e S\minaire IN 4a relation dCobDet' Paris Se!il, )BB>'

4anm!ir, Gavin 4' "The MnihtCs Tale of Oo!n ?!h of 4incoln'" Spec!l!m >6

()B6*. >


17/17

Star& Zitter, mmy' "Anti-Semitism in 1ha!cerCs PrioressCs Tale'" 1ha!cer /evie#

*< ()BB). *66+>'

%einra!b, !ene /' 1hretienCs Grail A 9e#ish /ite0 A Le# Investiation ased on

;edieval ?ebraic So!rces' Phd 5issertation, 1ornell University, )B6)'

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