ABSTRACT
The third tale in this second group, the Physician's Tale, is there because it is likewise a pious exemplum of a virtuous woman. It is different from the other two in that it relates a single episode in her life and ends in death. This makes it very different, though it is not in any sense a passio sancti: Virginia's death is not a martyrdom but a rescue from a fate worse than death. The difficulty of saying exactly what the Physician's Tale is may reflect some confusion or even complexity in its design.
