The Reeve In Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

The true character of the pilgrim, Reeve in The Canterbury Tales Prologue, is revealed through his skillfulness, trickery and slyness. The Reeve seems to always be doing something dishonest, yet never gets caught. One of his most criminal acts is stealing from his lord, which he does too often. He continues to do the wrong thing, but as the manager of the estate, no one below him ever dares to do the same. The Reeve is able to outsmart those around him because he knows to never leave a trace of anything. The Reeve is described as an old man so thin that his legs resemble sticks. He gives a sickly appearance as if he suffers from a disease. He has a beard closely shaven to his skin and his hair stops just above his ears like a priest’s. He wears clothes that would generally be worn by a friar, not a man with money. The narrator tells the readers this to indirectly infer that the Reeve tries to hide his riches by

With years of experience, the Reeve is able to estimate the amount of products needed to be produced judging by only the rainfall. What the lord does not know is that the Reeve has been outsmarting him for the past several years. He steals the animals on the land and sells them, then keeps all the money that he makes on them. He takes whatever he can from the land and uses it for himself or sells it for a profit. With all the treasure that the Reeve acquires, some of it is used to buy cheap gifts for his lord in order to flatter him. Without ever being caught, the Reeve continues to use his experience on the land and steal from it constantly for his own personal gain. Meanwhile, he punishes those below him who are attempting to perform the same acts. While describing the Reeve, Chaucer infers that this pilgrim is of deceitful nature. The Reeve manages look like the most reliable worker on the estate, when in reality he is the most immoral