49 Pathological Gambling
Name: Geoffrey Chaucer (aka Chaucer)
Source: A Knight’s Tale (Movie, 2001)
Background Information
Geoffrey Chaucer is a male in his late 20’s to early 30’s. He is in good health and with no serious illnesses. We have no information from this movie about his past. This includes no information about his parents or where he is from. He announces that he is a writer for hire. He says that he has written a few poems and is known for his book “The Book of the Duchess”. During the time of the movie, he acts as a writer and a herald for William. He seems to have no social ties to his past other than the people who have collected his debts. During the movie, he does start to gain close relationships with the four people he is traveling and working with. There is no evidence that he has any other vices such as drinking or drug problems throughout the movie. He has difficulty dealing with his gambling urges and knowing when to stop.
Description of the Problem
Chaucer starts the story in a very depressed mood. He is first introduced to us while he walks completely naked down a trail. He comes upon a group of men along the road. He then lies about how he has lost all of his possessions. He says that he had been robbed in a sense rather than that he had lost of his possessions to his gambling problem. To get passage to the next city he blackmails the group. He blackmails them by uncovering that the group had lied about their identities and saw that they would need forged documents that he could provide if they gave him money. After forging the documents, Chaucer presented them for authentication and had them accepted. The group offers Chaucer the job of being a herald, which he accepts. At the same time, though, he is very preoccupied with watching people gambling along the alleyway. He then immediately cuts off is conversation with William to go and gamble. This leads him to be in the same position where we had first seen: naked and with a large gambling debt. When Chaucer is unable to pay for his debts, he calls on William to get him out of the bad situation. William is given the choice of paying off Chaucer’s debt or let his new friend pay for it from his hide. Chaucer admits after this that he has a problem with gambling.
Diagnosis
Based on the DSM-IV-TR criteria Chaucer fits at least eight of the ten maladaptive behaviors listed.
- A. Persistent and recurrent maladaptive gambling behavior as indicated by five (or more) of the following:
- (1) is preoccupied with gambling (e.g., preoccupied with reliving past gambling experiences, handicapping or planning the next venture, or thinking of ways to get money with which to gamble)
When Chaucer is given a small amount of money he immediately see people gambling and is fixated his attention on them. He then says, “I must see a man about a dog” this is a cover up so that he can leave to go gamble the little cash that he had just received.
- (2) needs to gamble with increasing amounts of m