Canterbury Tales - The Evil Rooted In Women

Want to read the rest of this paper? Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay and over 50,000 other term papers

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 ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays. Write better papers. Get better grades. Already a member? Login

On the contrarily, the Prioress is considered "scholastic" and high class due to her well-manners. Her ability to speak the noble language --French puts her character in a higher class as well.(prioress, 10) Thus, the Prioress is considered erudite and intelligent. Basically, the Wife of Bath is kind of a foil to the women during the Middle Ages. Her actions and thinking not only differ from the Prioress but almost from everyone else!!!
The Wife of Bath is radical especially when it comes to relationship with men. She is characterized as knowing much about love which is illustrated by her physical defect-being gap-toothed symbolizing "sexual accomplishment". The Wife of Bath ...

Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library. Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports, and research papers in 2 minutes or less.

CITE THIS PAGE: