Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales
In Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, an interesting mix of people gather to comment on various issues in the society. The most commendable aspect of their stories is that none of them seems to be interested in making an issue out of anything. They are simply who are they and through them we get to see beyond the caricatures and stereotypes that society has constructed. These people are all very different from what they are expected to be. Wife of Bath, for example, is not your average timid woman of the 16th or 17th century. She is a bold, lusty, and vocal person with a mind of her own who can be described as a man-eater. Middle Ages were not exactly a time of static moral values. Things had been changing but change was slow and people were not very receptive. Sexuality however was an important subject as people were seeking new meanings of the term and there was some experimentation in this area. Thus we notice that the entire Canterbury Tales pays great deal of attention to the subject of sexuality. While ordinary people were expected to be chaste, in the Middle Ages, things had begun to change and even the celibates were seen bearing children. Similarly The Monk's description in the General Prologue depicts a person wh
This character should be studied closely to understand the changing social values in medieval times and the role assigned to wives in the society of Chaucer's times. The Monk owns horses because he is fond of riding. Psychological, moral, and spiritual interpretations of the Pardoner's eunuchry and of the sterility and, less accurately, the impotence with which it is associated permeate current critical treatments of this pilgrim. While they were given little freedom outside this restricted sphere, critics observe that medieval women were granted substantial autonomy within that sphere. When talking about his passions and the way he spends his time, the narrator informs, "Hunting a hare or riding at a fence/Was all his fun, he spared for no expense. She makes it absolutely clear that she saw her husbands as means to an end and not the end in itself. He sings to the Summoner and the love shown is rather odd. The Monk likes his clothes with a little "garnish". It was the thing to choose a celestial patroness. He appears to have some homosexual traits since he acts effeminately and is described in the same manner too. While she may poorly represent the women of her times, still her clothing and mannerism effectively reflect "the folly of the bourgeoisie--its appetite for goods, both social and economic--as the ancestral license of women. Describing the things he owns, the narrator says, "Many a dainty horse he had in stable" (p.
Common topics in this essay:
Eglantine Critics,
Wife Bath,
Saint Augustine's,
Alison Bath,
Monk Prologue,
Canterbury Tales,
Middle Ages,
Justman345 Wife,
Ages None,
Similarly Monk's,
wife bath,
middle ages,
changing social,
medieval times,
studied closely,
moral values,
expected chaste,
saint augustine's,
complete opposite,
people expected,
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