The speaking wound: Gower’s Confessio Amantis and the ethics of listening in the #metoo era

Abstract

John Gower’s version of the rape of Lucretia in the Confessio Amantis begins with an episode in which the rapist, Arrons, injures himself as a deceptive ploy. Gower’s depiction of this episode, often omitted from other medieval accounts of Lucretia, complements his description of Lucrece’s inarticulate explanations and highly visible suffering to emphasize the rhetorical impact of pain. In the present moment, this tale evokes the political power of the rape narrative, but it also suggests the potential for manipulation or the further victimization of survivors if these narratives are misread. In this article, then, I propose a reconsideration of Gower’s use of the confessional mode as a means of recontextualizing rape narratives within the Confessio and developing a politics of listening. Through careful reading of confession’s successes and failures in the text, audiences might cultivate new ways of understanding and productively responding to these stories.