The
Canterbury Tales
In
Chaucer’s female pilgrimage, women have evil-like qualities because they tempt
men and cause their downfall. In different stories, women are untrustworthy,
vain, and selfish. Their depiction is similar to caricatures rather than real
humans. The author utilizes the faults of both females and males to explain the
sharp contrast between wrong and right. However, he reveals under the surface
how women exploit men’s desires and fears to cause their downfall. In his
tales, the writer expresses his opinionated views on the behavior and manners of women. There is a
portrayal of two extremes on women. For instance in Prioress symbolizes devoted
and admirable church followers whereas Bath represents lusty and extravagant
women. Still, the two tales leave readers with a suspended enigma amidst the
disparity.
The Wife of Bath represents a liberal extreme on women stereotypes in the
dark ages. While the majority of women were anonymous during the Middle Ages,
the narrator uses her mind to voice herself. In addition, her high self-esteem
makes her show off Sunday clothes
whenever she has an opportunity (163). Consequently, the Wife of Bath’s intimidation of women and men alike is evident
considering her power. Given that this character has an obnoxious attitude, the
author skilfully labels her ‘large, toothless, and fat’. Therefore, the reader
can doubt if the woman is ‘not-presentable’ and ugly as the author claims.
Contrastingly, Prioress is Wife of Bath’s
foil. According to Chaucer, she is tender-hearted and cannot bear physical
suffering or pain. She cries if she thinks of a dying dog. The fact that
Prioress has a low tolerance to suffering and pain implies that she has a frail
feminine soul. The description that women
are afraid and skittish beings highly dependent on men for security is still
common in the modern society.
The
writer paints an elegant but delicate image of Prioress. According to the
author, a woman’s table manners are distant from the brutish festivals of the
Middle Ages. He says that not a drop of
anything would fall off Prioress’ mouth because of her gracefulness and
politeness at the table. In addition, Chaucer says that Prioress had a letter ‘A’ in her neck which implies ‘love conquers
all’(163). Her symbol shows perfection and is impressive especially to men who
want to have her. People cannot compare the Wife of Bath with Prioress because
she is ugly, ostentatious, and ultimately daunting while she is well-mannered,
loving, and elegant.
Furthermore,
the author uses education to show the Wife
of Bath’s weakness. She is a frequent traveler.
The movement exposes her to the world, thus improving her knowledge and
awareness. She intuitively holds discussions with others but the writer
undermines her due to her looks and low social class. He fails to recognize her
wisdom and her consciousness of what is going on. Notably, people only
recognized academic or scholarly knowledge. In essence, the pursuits of the Wife of Bath are not commendable.
Contrarily, Chaucer and other men of his generation regarded Prioress as a high-class scholastic woman with good manners
(287). He rates her character on top of the Wife
of Bath because Prioress can seamlessly speak the noble French language.
The
Wife of Bath has radical traits,
specifically regarding man-to-woman relationships. The author characterizes her
as knowledgeable on love because the gap between her teeth symbolizes sexual
accomplishment. In fact, the Wife of Bath
is not ashamed to tell other women about her sexual experiences (165). She
reiterates that her numerous sexual affairs and five marriages have broken the
hearts of numerous innocent men. Furthermore, she categorizes her husband into
two. The first group was rich but not
sexually active. On the other hand, the young husbands were vigorous in bed but
immature. Since she sought to power and control over men, she does not succeed
as a wife. In the modern times, the empowerment of women results in unstable
families as they seek independence. The Wife of Bath’s last marriage ended
because a man half her age beats her. She pretends to be dead but the move
makes her husband guilty, forcing him to leave.
The
differences between the two women reveal the
traits that a modern man looks for in a
woman. In a time of frequent divorce cases, most men seek a pure heart such as
that of Prioress. Therefore, this desire leads to fear of not having her and
falling for a disguised ‘Wife of Bath’ (164).
It is ironic that as the Wife of Bath
seeks freedom and sovereignty, Prioress gets love and peace without seeking
them intentionally.
Both
women have power over men but in different ways. People did not view women
highly during the Middle Ages. However,
there are positive changes today. Therefore, prioress is a superior woman in a
monastic female community. On the other hand, hag
offers the Wife of Bath a freedom to
choose a husband of her taste. In the end, she has the sovereignty, though
after a great struggle.
Despite
the feministic of the Wife of Bath,
there are isolated instances when she fulfills
the men’s demands and wishes. Contrastingly, Prioress has nearly all the
qualities that modern men seek. However, she is educated and unobtainable. It
renders her out of reach for an average man. Essentially, the author offers a
beneficial advice to women that look for career success while upholding the
family values.
Works
Cited
Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury
Tales. Calgary: Broadview Press, 2012: 160-292. Print.
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