‘Think me cold, frozen, and impotent, and so report me?’: Volpone and His ‘Castrone’ Complex
‘Think me cold, frozen, and impotent, and so report me?’: Volpone and His ‘Castrone’ Complex
Reading Jonson with the Fabliau, Boccaccio and Chaucer, this chapter, with the help of Lacan’s theory, rereads Volpone Act 3 scene 7, explaining why Volpone ‘delays’ his ‘rape’ of Celia. While Volpone is commonly known for his love of theatrical performance and transformation, the chapter suggests that this cannot be thought without the concept of his being ‘castrated’. Although ‘castration’ is usually regarded as a censoring force, Volpone is empowered and thrives on it. Moreover, this chapter compares the scene in Volpone with another similar one in Philip Massinger’s The Renegado, discussing how the subject of castration is used in early modern comedy and tragicomedy.
Keywords: Volpone, Castration, Jacques Lacan, Giovanni Boccaccio, Geoffrey Chaucer, Philip Massinger, Comedy, Tragicomedy
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