Marriage In Chaucers The Canterbury Tales - 1709 Words

In Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, a group of traveling pilgrims on their way from London to Canterbury pass the time by telling each other stories and tales. A handful of the tales are on the topic of marriage, most notably The Miller’s Tale, The Wife of Bath’s Tale and The Merchant’s Tale. The Miller talks about his wife and marriage poorly in his prologue and his tale is just as cynical. The Wife of Bath reveals in her prologue that she has had five husbands, something that was frowned upon then just as it still is in today’s society. In her tale, the story sees the main character change his view on his own marriage from a negative thing to something he cherishes. Finally, The Merchant’s prologue reveals that he, too, has a†¦show more content†¦However, The Miller says that there was quite an age difference between John and Alisoun, his wife, and that John â€Å"heeld hire narwe in cage†, meaning that he held her i n confinement (Chaucer 267). Husbands having this type of control over their wives was not unique to this time period seeing as it was the norm for many years to come. One part of the story describes what Alisoun is wearing and how she looks. This section goes on for lines and lines and implies that women are only good for their appearance. He also says that Alisoun is â€Å"gent and smal†, which can be translated to slender and delicate while also revealing that she is merely eighteen years old (Chaucer 267). As the story goes on, Nicholas is introduced. He professes his love for her and begs her to return the emotion. She declines and he reacts negatively, to which Alisoun immediately changes her mind and returns his love. She says that they can be together if they wait patiently and are secretive (Chaucer 268). Planning to cheat on one’s husband is not something that would be viewed positively in that time and this shows that Alisoun, in a way, did not conform to th e way that women were expected to act in marriages at the time. Even though cheating has never been held to a high standard during any time period, having a female character want to act unfaithfully to her husband can be seen as a good thing in terms of female empowerment in The Miller’s Tale. Before Chaucer begins The Wife ofShow MoreRelatedAttitudes Toward Marriage in Chaucers the Canterbury Tales1477 Words   |  6 PagesAttitudes Toward Marriage in Chaucers The Canterbury Tales Chaucers The Canterbury Tales demonstrate many different attitudes toward and perceptions of marriage. Some of these ideas are very traditional, such as that discussed in the Franklins Tale, and others are more liberal such as the marriages portrayed in the Millers and the Wife of Baths Tales. While several of these tales are rather comical, they do indeed give us a representation of the attitudes toward marriage at that time inRead More Chaucers Canterbury Tales Essay - Marriage in The Wife of Baths Prologue and Tale672 Words   |  3 PagesMarriage in Geoffrey Chaucers The Wife of Baths Prologue and Tale The disparity in the outcomes of the hags marriage and Alisons marriages in Geoffrey Chaucers The Wife of Baths Prologue and Tale depends in part on the womens differing expectations of their husbands. The hags modus agendi depends on a knights obligation to honour his pledge, whereas Alisons modus operandi depends on her husbands conduct after marriage, i.e. on her circumstances. Having saved the knights life, theRead More Chaucers Canterbury Tales - Marriage as Portrayed in Merchants Prologue and Tale1193 Words   |  5 PagesMarriage as Portrayed in The Merchants Prologue and Tale  Ã‚   The story of Januaries marriage to May and her subsequent infidelity with Damyan allows for not only Chaucers view of marriage to come through, but also includes the opinions of contemporary writers. Chaucer allows his views to be made known as the narrator and his views could also be said to infiltrate the speeches of the Merchant. Justinus and Placebos views are also accounted for as the fictional characters also air their opinionsRead MoreGeoffrey Chaucer s Impact On Literature1231 Words   |  5 PagesGeoffrey Chaucer’s Impact on Literature: English poet Geoffrey Chaucer is acclaimed to be one of the best and most influential poets in history. Geoffrey Chaucer wrote several famous literary works in what is called middle English. Geoffrey Chaucer was born in 1340 in London, England. Over the course of Chaucer’s life, he entered and exited several different social classes. He began to write his most known pieces when he became a public servant to Countess Elizabeth of Ulster in 1357. He diedRead MoreThe Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer1582 Words   |  7 Pages Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the Canterbury tales a collection of short tales in the 14th century. The compilation of stories are told by different characters within the narrative as part of a game proposed by the host. Each individual must tell two stories on their journey and two stories on their way back. Each story tells some aspects of English life during the time and often added satire like qualities to the English life. In particular Chaucer often tells stories with elements of the relationshipRead MoreAnalysis Of Chaucer s The Canterbury Tales 1161 Words   |  5 Pagessource are very potent cues as to authorial intention. In composing The Canterbury Tales, there is a broad diversity of tales told by a wide range of narrators. This indicates that Chaucer likely used a wide variety of sources. The alterations made by Chaucer to the source material for the Clerk’s Tale, including Boccaccio’s Decameron X, or â€Å"The Story of Griselda,† indicate Chaucer†™s motive to examine issues such as marriage as was found in Renaissance Italy, and to explore the state of mind ofRead MoreCharacteristics Of Middle English Literature1356 Words   |  6 Pagesliterature during this era reflected mostly on current social structures, class and the importance of religion. The Middle English era has had some great stories written Some important examples of literature during the middle English era are: The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer, Gawain Poets life and works, and The Death of Christ by The York Mystery Play. During the 14th and 15 century class structures were divided into upper and lower class with many layers in between the two. The upper class was madeRead MoreEssay Immorality in Chaucers Canterbury Tales1646 Words   |  7 Pagesambiguity are two concepts that will ruin any relationship. In Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, he specifically illustrates through his pilgrims’ stories some comical and realistic events that display immorality in the Middle Ages. There are several characters whose stories are focused on presenting the immorality within their tales. Like that of â€Å"The Miller’s Tale,† and â€Å"The Merchant’s Tale.† Chaucer utilizes these tales to display one specific immoral act, which is sexual sin or lust. ChaucerRead MoreGeoffrey Chaucers Use of Characterization Essay1308 Words   |  6 Pagesappealed to those of all walks of life. Chaucer’s work resulted in mass appeal because it used many forms of character ization to present the characters to the reader. In Geoffrey Chaucer’s Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer uses thoughts and actions, his word, and satire to characterize The Squire and The Wife of Bath. Geoffrey Chaucer is well known for his use of characterization in his works. A notable work of Chaucer was Prologue to the Canterbury Tales. This piece was notable because it appealedRead MoreSex in The Canterbury Tales Essay937 Words   |  4 Pages Geoffrey Chaucer uses sex as a manipulative instrument in The Canterbury Tales. Portraying sex as a power that women exert over men rather than the marital bond of â€Å"making love† makes evident Chaucer’s skewed views of love and marriage with underlying tones of misogyny. He expresses these views throughout the work, however, the theme of love and sex is most evident in the sub-stories of The Wife of Bath and The Miller’s Tale. Chaucer breaks the topic of sex into two basic parts: carnality and romanticism