<P> Virginius - the father of the fourteen - year - old Virginia and a knight, kills his only daughter rather than give her up to the corrupt judge Appius . Virginia - the daughter of Virginius; not wishing to give herself to Appius, consents to her father's plan . Appius - a corrupt judge and the main antagonist of the tale . Lusts after Virginia and concocts a plan in order to acquire her through legal means . Claudius - A "churl" under Appius's employ; instructed to claim in court that Virginia is actually a slave that Virginius abducted . Unnamed but mentioned characters include Virginia's mother and the citizens who rise up against Appius . </P> <P> The tale is a version of a story related both by the Roman historian Livy and in the 13th - century Roman de la Rose (Merriam Webster). The story opens with a description of the noble Virginius and the beautiful, virtuous Virginia . One day, Virginia accompanies her mother to the city on an errand and is spotted by a judge, whose name is later revealed to be Appius, who decides he must have her to himself . It is then that Appius concocts a scheme to take her legally: he contacts a local peasant, named Claudius, who has a reputation for being both bold and cunning and asks for assistance in the matter . Claudius accepts and is rewarded handsomely . Some time later, Claudius appears before Appius in court to file a complaint against Virginius, saying he has witnesses of his misdeeds . Appius declares that he cannot try Virginius without him being present . Virginius is called to the court and Claudius begins his accusation: Virginius stole one of Claudius' servants one night while she was young and raised her as his daughter . He then implores Appius to return his slave to him to which Appius agrees, refusing to listen Virginius' defense . Following the sentence, Virginius returned home with a "deathlike" face and called his daughter into the hall . He then informed Virginia of the events that transpired and offered her two choices: to be shamed by Appius or to die at her father's hand . Virginia laments her position for a moment before consenting to death by her father's blade . Virginius then beheads Virginia and brings her head to Appius in court . Upon seeing Virginia's severed head, Appius ordered that Virginius be hanged immediately . However, at the moment a thousand people burst into the room and defended Virginius . They had heard of Claudius' false charges and reasoned that Appius had put him up to it based on the judge's lecherous reputation . The crowd arrested Appius and threw him prison where he committed suicide . Claudius was set to be hanged with the others who had helped Appius in his scheme but Virginius, in a moment of clemency, asked that the peasant be exiled instead . The tale then ends with the Physician warning of sin and repercussions . </P> <P> There are a few recurring themes in Chaucer's "the Physician's Tale" such as consent and sacrifice . On the subject of consent, many critics have noted that, in the original versions of the story, Virginia was not given the choice of whether she could live or not . For example, Lianna Farber in her essay "the Creation of Consent in the Physician's Tale" the detail of Virginia's consent to death "appears neither in Chaucer's stated source, Livy's history, which Chaucer may or may not have known, nor in his unstated source, Jean de Meun's Roman de la Rose, which Chaucer most certainly did know" (151) meaning that Chaucer added the detail to the story himself . Chaucer's goal in giving Virginia a choice in his version of the tale is unclear . In fact, some even wonder if Virginia truly had a choice to begin with . Once again, Lianna Farber in "The Creation of Consent in the Physician's Tale" points out a flaw in Virginius's ultimatum of death or dishonor: "These alternatives are problematic because there would presumably be many other ways to deal with the situation: Virginia could run away; she could go into hiding; Virginius could stall for time while he called together all their friends who were pointedly mentioned when we were introduced to Virginius; and on and on" (158). Even further still, some argue that the purpose of Virginia's death is to highlight Virginius's ineptitude as a father . Once again, Farber states that Virginius's ultimatum to his daughter would have been seen as bad parenting saying: "It turns out, audiences of the story other than the Host tend to agree, that this is bad governance" (159). However, Farber also argues in the other direction saying that "the responsibility does not lie entirely with Virginius: Virginia embraces her father's logic as well as his power and, voicing both, consents to her own death" (159). </P> <P> Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus pays homage to this tale . After Lavinia is raped and mutilated, her father Titus kills her, arguing that she "should not survive her shame ." He then compares himself to Virginius . </P>

What is the theme of the physician tale
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