Canterbury Tales -- Role Of Wo
Chaucer's motley crew of pilgrims offered a vast deal of insight into life during the 14th century. Many aspects of society were revealed throughout the tales of the many characters. One such aspect prevalent in many of the tales was the role that women played in society during this time. The tales give the clearest images of women are the Knight's, the Miller's. the Nun's Priest, and the Wife of Bath's Tale.
In the Knight's Tale, women are portrayed through Emily. Upon first sight of Emily through his prison window, Palamon, the imprisoned knight falls madly in love with her. He exclaims:
"I have been hurt this moment through the eye,
Into my heart. It will be the death of me.
The ...
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I am but dead, there is no more to say."
(p. 49, l. 24-28).
The knights believe that one man may love and worship Emily from afar and each vehemently contends that he should be this man. The knights' emotions for a woman of whom they know absolutely nothing, save that she is beautiful, reduces her to an object to be won and an occasion for adventure and courtship.
Years later, after Palamon and Arcite are no longer in prison, they meet and agree to fight to the death for the right to love Emily. She still does not know that these men exist, let alone that they both love her and are willing to die for that love. King Theseus happens upon their brawl, proposes a controlled fight, and offers Emily as a reward to the victor. Again, Emily is nothing more than an object. The king gives no thought as to whether Emily desires to marry either knight, and seals her fate for her. This sheds light onto the esteem in which women were held during Chaucer's time. It ...
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directly follows the Knight's eloquent ramblings, and offers a stark juxtaposition between the first role depicted of women. The picture painted is not a pretty one; Alison, this story's main female character is portrayed as unfaithful, lustful, scheming, and crass. The miller begins his tale by claiming that "…a man's no cuckold if he has no wife", indicating that all women will be unfaithful to their husbands at some point in the marriage. This statement is a generalization of the behavior of all women by a succinct insult that reduces them to purely sexual creatures.
Alison, the carpenter's young wife in the tale is described as "…a daisy, O a lollypop/For any nobleman to take to ...
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"Canterbury Tales -- Role Of Wo." Essayworld.com. March 12, 2005. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Canterbury-Tales-Role-Of-Wo/23601.
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