Memory And Textuality In Geoffrey Chaucer's The House Of Fame

Memory and Textuality
In Geoffrey Chaucer’s The House of Fame, the dreamer and the reader are led through a dream vision and are exposed to the technologies of memory as well as the link between textual recovery and the narrative of fame. The fragmentary nature of the dream allows the reader and the dreamer to explore the disconnected nature of philosophical concepts including fame and rumor. Furthermore, the use of the dream vision allows the narrator to present larger arguments about such concepts through the use of extraordinary visuals, conversations, and circumstances.
In “Models for Memory” by Mary Carruthers, the concept of recollection as memory explores how visual memory has the ability to create a place where things can be stored. As in the House of Fame, there are visual storehouses used to compile all of the texts, traditions, and words that the dreamer encounters. For example, the glass temple of Venus acts as a storage place for important texts, such as Dido and the Aeneid. Additionally, the foundation of the House of Fame holds the names of those who have claimed their fame, though their fate is uncertain as it rests in ice. Furthermore, within the House of Fame, spoken and unspoken words are collected and placed into groups, only to be termed by Lady Fame as famous or infamous. Finally, the House of Rumour acts as a visual storehouse, thus providing a place of a visual transformation for truth and untruth to combine and depart out into the world. These models for memory work to showcase how fame functions throughout the House of Fame.

What do we make of the dream and its fragmentary nature of the narrative?

The fragmentary nature of the dream, including how it ends with a scramble in the House of Rumour, makes the vision more relatable. As the dreamer

described,
“At last I saw a man,
Which that I nevene nat ne can,
But he semed for to be
A man of great auctoritee…” (Page 92, Lines 2155-2158)
Additionally, the disconnected nature of the narrative allows the reader to be introduced to several extraordinary events and ideas simultaneously. Some of the things the dreamer encounters throughout the dream are otherworldly both through the visuals and the nature of the places and ideas. For example, the dreamer experiences the Temple of Venus, the wonder of the stars, the mysteries of Fame, and the consequences of Rumour.
The fragmentary nature of the idea of fame itself?
The nature of the dream also works to reflect the nature of fame itself throughout the narrative. From the beginning of the dream, Geffrey is brought to the Temple of Venus which is made of glass, a vulnerable substance. Filled within the temple are treasures and objects of high literary value, among jewels and other extravagant items. These items reside in a structure that, though sparkles anu76d shines, is also a recipe for destruction, for at any moment the structure could be stuck and destroyed. The fortress that protects the famous works is fragile, thus placing a fragility on the items within. Though permanently placed within the extraordinary structure, there is no guarantee of its survival through time.
Outside the House of Fame, is another significant structure of importance, the foundation. Indeed, the foundation to the House of Fame is made entirely of ice and, though also appealing to the eye, provides a very shaky and unaccountable base for Fame. Moreover, the names inscribed, or partially inscribed, into the surface of the ice also work to displayThe ice foundation could also arguably be more vulnerable than the temple of glass. Ice needs only heat to send it to its own demise. Moreover, it requires more attention and upkeep than a structure made of glass. What can be said of Fame at this moment? The ice structure is closer in proximity to Fame than the temple was; thus portraying a gradual decline in security as one gets closer to the House.
Though the base is weak, the House of Fame itself proves to be a solid structure superior in architectural excellence according to the dreamer. Indeed, he can hardly find the words to describe its beauty. ---------
---------The House of Fame is filled with windows which, combined with the inner structure, places everyone in the vulnerable position of being broken and forgotten. How would anyone find their place among the house, let alone preserve themselves within it? Everything about Geffrey’s dream seems to lend to the idea that fame is not only a possibility by chance alone, but that the concept itself is fragmented. Fame is an unreliable and unpredictable structure, just as the temple of glass, the foundation of the House, and the House itself are.
How does the idea of a dream vision work for Chaucer’s exploration of different philosophical ideas in the text? (choose a few)
Chaucer’s dream vision takes on several philosophical ideas, as the nature of a dream allows him to expand speculation on the concept of fame and rumor. The House of Fame is one example of how Chaucer’s dream visions tackle unsolvable questions. Indeed, the dreamer’s imagination allows him the freedom to analyze the concept of fame, and the presider over Fame, more closely. He considers Lady Fame’s unpredictability in how she divvies out the fate of each person’s fame and, furthermore, observes the instability of fame itself. Geffrey is exposed to the reality that one cannot choose what he is famous for. Similarly, he discerns that one cannot choose how he will be remembered. Once indulged in the benefits that fame can procure, there is an endless pursuit of wanting more, or better. Further, there is no telling what deed of a person’s life will be written in light, or remembered by others. For example, an author can continue to write books throughout their lifetime, though there is no telling what part of their accomplishments, or failings, will be remembered, if any at all.
The dream vision allows the dreamer to consider the nature of rumor. Rumor, like fame, carries an important weight in the memory of a person, for rumors have the ability to derail or propel one’s fame. In the House of Rumour, the dreamer observes millions of tydings flying around, going in and out of small windows. What he witnesses, is the merging of truth and untruth, and ultimately, the transformation of the tyding before it leaves the house and reenters the world. As the dreamer describes:
“A lesing and a sad soothe sawe
That gonne of adventure drawe
Out a windowe for to pace,
And, whan they metten in that place,
They were a-chekked bothe two,
And neither of hem mote out go” (Page 91, Line 2089-2094)
This place of news also serves as a place of transformation, for nothing remains pure once it enters the whirling house of twigs. The disconnected nature of the dream vision works also to emulate the broken nature of philosophy. The exploration of philosophical ideas such as fame and rumor are displayed in the text as unpredictable, broken concepts. Lady Fame’s -----??
Accepting that we have an unfinished text, what can we say about the way the content and the form of the dream work together?
The dream ends as the dreamer joins among others as they climb over each other to reach a “tyding.” Indeed, as people are talking of love, others are fighting for an opportunity to hear and to learn. The dreamer reaches the crowd and sees a man of great authority whom he does not name, and with this the dream breaks off. The idea of the text as “unfinished” reflects the nature of fame-seekers. This is because the quest for fame, even once achieved, must be continually maintained. One is never quite finished in their search for fame, or their quest for knowledge in this case.
The use of the Dream Vision
The dream vision serves as a mode for the narrator to express something to a third party, the reader. Similar to the way that everything is transformed in the House of Fame and the House of Rumour, there comes a transformation in what is narrated. Indeed, the dream itself has been interpreted by Geffrey, then retold to the reader, making it difficult for the reader to do the analyzing. There is a trust that must be placed in the narrator to tell the complete story to the best of their ability; however, the reality is that dreams can be interpreted and manipulated by the dreamer in their retelling.