Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Summer 2024

Publisher

Johns Hopkins University Press

Abstract

When J. K. Rowling uses Chaucer's "Pardoner's Tale" as her source text for "The Tale of the Three Brothers," she also incorporates Chaucer's frame, which questions whether a "vicious" storyteller can tell a moral tale. Rowling's use of this frame both signals that her characters may not be trustworthy and gives readers a lens for analyzing her transphobic messaging. Moreover, since the Pardoner is a queer (and possibly trans) character, embedding him within her text ultimately undermines her public transphobic statements. Additionally, we should look to the trans and nonbinary communities to guide us as we critically engage with Rowling's work going forward.

Comments

Copyright © 2024 The Johns Hopkins University Press. This article first appeared in Children’s Literature Association Quarterly, 49(2), 127–149. Reprinted with permission by Johns Hopkins University Press.

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