The Evil Rooted In Women
Uploaded by Lisayang83 on Nov 10, 1999
Chaucer, in his female pilgrimage thought of women as having an evil-like quality, that they always tempt and take from men. They were depicted of untrustworthy, selfish and vain. Through the faults of both men and women, Chaucer showed what is right and wrong and how one should live. Under the surface, however, lies a jaded look of women and how they cause for the downfall of men. (chuckiii, 4) Chaucer obviously had very opinionated views of the manners and behaviors of women and expressed it strongly in The Canterbury Tales. In his collection of tales, he portrayed two extremes in his prospect of women. The Wife of Bath represented the extravagant and lusty woman where as the Prioress represented the admirable and devoted followers of church. (Chaucer, 8) Chaucer delineated the two characters contrastingly in their appearances, general manners, education and most evidently in their behavior toward men. Yet, in the midst of disparities, both tales left its readers with an unsolved enigma.
The Wife of Bath represents the "liberal" extreme in regards to female stereotypes of the Middle Ages.(chuckiii, 4) Unlike most women being anonymous during the Middle Ages, she has a mind of her own and voices herself. Furthermore, she thinks extremely highly of herself and enjoys showing off her Sunday clothes whenever the opportunity arises. She intimidates men and women alike due to the power she possesses. Because of her obnoxious attitude Chaucer makes her toothless, fat and large. Doubtlessly, she is very ugly, almost to the point of "not-presentable." The Prioress, on the other hand, serves as a foil to the Wife of Bath. Chaucer describes her as "tenderhearted" who can not bear the sight of pain or physical suffering. She will cry at the thought of a dog dying. It could represent that she has a frail soul with low tolerance for pain and suffering.(fordham, 16) The latter description carries over into the modern stereotypes about women as skittish and afraid members of society who need to be cared for. (Fordham, 16) Chaucer paints a very delicate and elegant picture of the Prioress. Her manners of eating are far from the brutish festivals of the time. Chaucer describes her table manners as very graceful, not a drop of anything would fall from her mouth, and she was very polite when taking thing at the table. (lines 131-4). Chaucer's last description of Prioress - the...