Part II: In addition to furthering the action of the Knight’s story, this section reinforces the traits of each of the main characters. Theseus, in acquiescing to the women’s pleas, illustrates that his defining trait is his reason: Despite his own passion (anger, in this case), he is moved to rational compassion. As absurd as the knights’ behavior may be, Theseus understands it because he himself has been a servant of love. Similarly, in his lament, Arcite illustrates that he is blind to his good fortune and primarily embroiled in physical matters. Palamon, in demanding that both he and Arcite be killed for their crimes, demonstrates his own willingness to live (and potentially die) by the chivalric code.
The passage also highlights several conventions and customs valued by medieval society. For example, when Arcite returns to Athens, he is “al allone, save only a squier.” His condition of being “all alone” is significant in terms of medieval society. No person of significance would travel all alone. (Note that the Narrator-Knight speaks repeatedly of the social significance of traveling with companions or in a “compaignye.”) Arcite’s “aloneness” allows Theseus to pity him and make him one of his “company,” thus Arcite is close to Emilie.
Another important convention of medieval society was the purpose and form of the chivalric code, a code of conduct that defined not only proper forms of behavior but also appropriate interactions among people. That the two knights — ideally bound to chivalrous conduct — fight like animals and not men (they are compared to lions, tigers, bears, and boars) indicates how far they have fallen from the knightly idea. When Theseus stops their duel, he rebukes the knights for their unlawful ceremony and, true to his portrayal in this tale, reimposes the behavioral and social code by proposing an alternative to lawless dueling: a formal tournament in one year with each knight supported by one hundred knights.
