Chaucers Portrayal Of Women in Canterbury Tales Essay

All through Canterbury Tales, women are dealt with as objects in everyday life. In the â€Å"Miller’s Tale,† an old man marries a younger, attractive women for her looks. In the â€Å"Wife of Bath’s Tale,† a virgin woman has her virginity and innocence taken from her by what is suppose to be a noble and honorable knight and when his punishment is later to marry an older, less attractive women, all respect for his newly wife vanishes. A woman’s level of recognition in Canterbury Tales are through her class in society, whether she is young and beautiful, or old and disgusting, and her degree of experience in life. Women are not desired for their intelligence, wisdom and capabilities which might of kept a relationship deceitful-free. The â€Å"Wife of†¦show more content†¦The medieval church taught that women were inferior to men and that they should be compliant and obedient to their fathers and husbands. Men look down to women as their resp ect for their ladies are limited as in Canterbury Tales were these women start out as beneath men. These same men who feel the need to arrogate women of their dignity find their fate is later put into the women’s hands. Although a women is taciturn and does not speak out to the men and talk of their animadversion toward the men’s behavior, these same ladies have the power to then decide how these men should serve their punishment for their sacrileges and unruly decisions as in the â€Å"Wife of Bath’s Tale†, were after his life was saved by an old lady, in return this old women requested to him to â€Å"take me as your wife† (p.138). A women’s love and passion should be approached with appreciation and admiration otherwise being inconsiderate and impassionate will turn a women against a man. An enchanting and piquant woman has one power over the man that one with limited beauty does not. She has the ability to benefit from her allurement. He r loving face can put men into a trance no matter his age, class, or power in society and despite her level of loyalty. Men don’t chase woman for their brains but rather then their beauty. If a woman knows sheShow MoreRelatedWomen In Geoffrey Chaucers Canterbury Tales1288 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction Geoffrey Chaucer’s â€Å"The Canterbury Tales† is a collection of stories written between 1387 and 1400 about a group of thirty people who travel as pilgrims to Canterbury (England) and on their way, they tell stories to each other about their lives and experiences. The stories constitute a critique of English society at the time, and particularly of the Church, while women seem to be presented in a different way than they are in other contemporary works. The aim of this essay is to presentRead MoreThe Canterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer1073 Words   |  5 PagesIn The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer introduced and described a variety of fictional characters that lived in the Middle Ages. It was the time period that European civilians were governed by a system called feudalism. Where kings were the head of the system and everyone was categorized in social classes. In the prologue of The Canterbury Tales the first character introduced was the knight. Geoffrey Chaucer depicts the knight correctly by characterizing him as a chivalrous and honorable man,Read More Passive Women in Chaucers Canterbury Tales? Essay1466 Words   |  6 PagesPassive Women in Chaucers Canterbury Tales? One argument that reigns supreme when considering Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is whether or not there is an element of anti-feminism within the text. One thread that goes along with this is whether or not the women of The Canterbury Tales are passive within the tales told. This essay will explore the idea that the women found within the tales told by the pilgrims (The Knight’s Tale, The Miller’s Tale and The Wife of Bath’s Tale to name a few)Read MoreWomen s Liberty Through Literature1105 Words   |  5 PagesEnglish 4 AP Literature Mrs. Johnson  The role of women in society has been well documented through world literature. Works such as The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, Hamlet by William Shakespeare,The Education of Women by Daniel Defoe, and A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen. These works come from a wide variety of time periods, they range from the middle ages to the modern era, where the first was published around 900 years before the last.  Women make up approximately half of the population ofRead MoreEssay on The Portrayal of the Clergy in the Canterbury Tales1169 Words   |  5 PagesThe Portrayal of Religion and the Clergy in The Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer, in his Canterbury Tales, felt that the Churchs turmoil experienced during the fourteenth century contributed to the a declining trust of clergy and left the people spiritually devastated. The repeated epidemics that the European Church experienced weakened the church by highlighting the clergys inability to face adversity. The clergys inability to provide relief for the people during a period of suffering didRead MoreCritical Analysis Of The Wife Of Bath1521 Words   |  7 Pages(371-377). In the Middle Ages, women were not given much slack or authority regarding their morality, spirituality, and economic and social positioning. Biblical symbols caused a misrepresentation of women and were highly regarded in the suppressing of the female voice and their value outside of being a wife and mother. â€Å"The Wife of Bath’s Tale† provides one of the most intriguing medieval cultural insights to gender studies. The reader joins a pilgrimage with the Can terbury Tale’s most audacious andRead MoreEssay about Relationships in Geoffrey Chaucers The Canterbury Tales520 Words   |  3 Pagescan also be found in stories about a husband and wife. In Geoffrey Chaucers The Canterbury Tales many of the characters make this idea apparent with the stories they tell. In â€Å"The Pardoner’s Tale†, a distinct relationship can be made between the character of the Pardoner and his tale of three friends. Also, the Wife in â€Å"The Wife of Bath’s Tale† boldly declares her relationship towards her husband. Throughout â€Å"The Pardoner’s Tale†, the main character teaches about greed, gambling, desecration, andRead More Chaucers Canterbury Tales Essay - The Strong Wife of Bath1112 Words   |  5 Pageshad done in the other four and as she would probably do in the sixth, which she declared herself ready to welcome. Alison certainly ranks high among women able to gain control over their mates.    The Wife of Baths personality, philosophy of sexuality, and attitude toward sovereignty in marriage obviously are offered as comedy. When Chaucers short poem addressed to Bukton, who is about to marry, recommends that he read the Wife of Bath regarding The sorwe and wo that is in mariage (ed.Read MoreAnalysis Of The Knight And His Tale2835 Words   |  12 PagesAnalysis of the Knight and His Tale in The Canterbury Tales The Canterbury Tales, a poem consisting of several tales told by various pilgrims, is perhaps the most well known work of Geoffrey Chaucer. The Canterbury Tales Chaucer introduces the pilgrims in the general prologue many of the pilgrims in a satirical manner. In prologue to The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer introduces the Knight as â€Å"a true perfect gentle-knight,† (5) who exemplifies the code of chivalry. The tale that the Knight later narratesRead More Canterbury Tales Essay - Marriage and the Role of Women in the Wife of Bath’s Prologue1384 Words   |  6 Pagesand the Role of Women in the Wife of Bath’s Prologue  Ã‚   The Canterbury Tales, begun in 1387 by Geoffrey Chaucer, are written in heroic couplets iambic pentameters, and consist of a series of twenty-four linked tales told by a group of superbly characterized pilgrims ranging from Knight to Plowman. The characters meet at an Inn, in London, before journeying to the shrine of St Thomas a Becket at Canterbury. The Wife of Bath is one of these characters. She bases both her tale and her prologue