In The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, Chaucer’s real opinions about marriage and relationships between men and women are shown. Marriage is an institution viewed upon in many different ways. Some believe it is a consecrated union of two people in order to procreate. On the other hand, there are those who look at it as a social contract which often binds two people that are not necessarily right for each other. Chaucer combines these two beliefs into one major belief. Chaucer seems to look at marriage as an obligation that is constantly dominated by one of its two members, this view being shown in the prologues and tales of the Clerk, the Wife of Bath, and the Miller. In the Clerk’s Tale, the Marquis, Walter, places his newly wed wife, Griselde, through a series of tests to prove that she truly loved him and that he had control over her. He subjects her through cruel trials such as “killing” her two children so that he can prove he has control over her. He even lets Griselde know that he will have dominion over here if they are to be married: “I warn you to be ready to obey my lightest whim and pleasure; you must show a willing heart, ungrudging night or day whether I please to offer joy or woe. When I say ‘Yes’ you never shall say ‘No’ either by word or frowning in defiance. Swear this and I will swear to our alliance.”(330) Chaucer is showing that one must have dominion in order to have a marriage and the significant other must realize this as well. The Marquis tests her vow multiple times to see if she truly wants to be in alliance with him. She does and eventually they have a happy marriage because of the dominion of Walter. He was able to exert control to see if this was a true marriage or not. Chaucer's view on marria... ... middle of paper ... ...He longs to always have her. Chaucer’s view on marriage as shown in the Miller’s Tale is that both sides can’t have power or the marriage is unequal. One will fall if there is not one major person with the significant power in the relationship. Chaucer exhibits many views through the selection of tales. However, dominance by the husband or wife is a very prominent theme throughout the tales. Either the husband has the overruling power over the wife or the wife’s power supersedes the husband’s power. Both can’t try to exert power on the other or the marriage will only be led to its downfall. Dominance can sometimes be too much as shown with the Clerk’s tale. The dominance has to be there just enough for the significant other to realize. Marriage can be interpreted in many ways, but it seems like Chaucer was one for either dominance in marriage or no marriage at all.
...patience, and the irrelevance of sovereignty in a marriage. The strength of Dorigen and Arveragus' marriage, obviously displays the best solution to Chaucer's marriage debate. "The Clerk's Tale" takes tests of loyalty to the extreme and unnecessarily tries to justify a love; whereas, "The Wife of Bath's Tale" results in a marriage that wishes to be one sided and all-powerful. On the other hand, "The Merchant's Tale" displays an invalid union of two people, and an affair that disrupts all that is sacred. The three tales of invalid marriages involve inconsiderate characters with a meaningless relationship. Meanwhile, "The Franklin's Tale" results in a marriage that is tested and true, buttressing the main characteristic that a marriage should exemplify: love.
The Merchant's revealed nature, however, combats the very destruction of creation and individual that he tried to attain. As the Merchant tries to subsume the reality of marriage, love, and relationship under his own enviously blind view, Chaucer shows us another individual, significant and important in his own way. Instead of acting as a totalizing discourse, Chaucer uses the Merchant's tale to reveal his depraved envy and to reveal him as no more than a wanton cynic. Thus, Chaucer provides the very perspective that the Merchant tries to steal from his audience.
Nelson, Marie. "Biheste is Dette: Marriage promises in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales." 2001. Dept. of English, Wentworth University. 15 July 2003 <http://www.wentworth.edu/nelson/chaucer>
Marcotte, Andrea. “Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales: Rhetoric and Gender in Marriage.” Lumirarium.Org. Anniina Jokinen, 6 Sept. 2012. 5 May. 2014
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The story of Januarie's marriage to May and her subsequent infidelity with Damyan allows for not only Chaucer's 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 Placebo's views are also accounted for as the fictional characters also air their opinions on the institution of marriage. In this way, Chaucer has allowed for a fair deal of discussion of marriage.
The structure Geoffrey Chaucer chose for his masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales, of utilizing a melange of narrative voices to tell separate tales allows him to explore and comment on subjects in a multitude of ways. Because of this structure of separate tales, the reader must regard as extremely significant when tales structurally overlap, for while the reader may find it difficult to render an accurate interpretation through one tale, comparing tales enables him to lessen the ambiguity of Chaucer’s meaning. The Clerk’s Tale and The Merchant’s Tale both take on the institution of marriage, but comment on it in entirely different manner, but both contain an indictment of patriarchal narcissism and conceit.
Chaucer exemplifies this in “The Wife of Bath’s Tale.” Living in a male-dominant society, the wife ...
In Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, a reader is introduced to a rather bizarre and heterogeneous group of people leaving for a pilgrimage. The Wife of Bath is the most interesting and lively character of the group. Her "Prologue" and "Tale" provide readers with a moral lesson as well as comic relief. The Wife's "Prologue" serves as an overture to her "Tale", in which she states a very important point regarding the nature of women and their most sacred desires. According to this character, women desire sovereignty, or power, over their men most in the world. This wish seems to be most appropriate for women of the time period in which Chaucer lived. However, women today no longer wish to dominate their men - sovereignty of women over men is not relevant in the twenty-first century. The reason is that women are no longer deprived of power and freedom.
In both the Miller’s Tale and the Wife of Bath’s Tale, Chaucer uses his characters and stories in order to project various stereotypes to the reader. Although varying a tad bit throughout the book, the tone that seems to be drawn from the stories is that women are manipulating, sinful, and power hungry, while men are considered gullible and rash. Its through understand and analyzing these stereotypes that we can fully understand what Chaucer’s stories are trying to convey to us.
In his attempt to surpass the Knight, the Miller sacrifices decorum for the sake of entertainment, reflecting his bawdy nature. When first traveling with the Miller, Chaucer listened to the Miller bellow “his ballads and jokes of harlotries” (1712). Scandalous topics appear throughout the Miller’s tale of a young girl “so graceful and so slim” named Alison who cheats on her husband, John, with his student, Nicholas (1720). When “handy Nicholas” first encounters Alison, he “[catches] her between the legs” and woos her, and they devise a plan to sleep with each other secretly (1721). This lecherous scheme fuels the entire plot of the tale. However, the parish clerk Absolom with his “gray eyes” and “nightingale” nature, typical attributes of lusty men, attempts to win Alison’s heart (1722, 1723). Although Absolom utilizes every method to win Alison’s heart even chewing “licorice and cardamom,” he ends up kissing her “bare bum” whereas Nicholas sleeps with her (1729, 1730). Chaucer’s initial encounter with the drunken Mi...
In the Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Chaucer illustrates the different perspective between men and women on the concept of marriage and love. In The Wife of Bath’s tale, it is shown the woman appreciating marriage and wanting to be able to love a man unconditionally as where in The Miller’s Tale, love isn’t anything, but sex with the man in the story. In accordance with Chaucer, the complication with marriage is that men are consumed by sexual desire and are easily abused by women like The Wife of Bath. As noticed, The Miller’s Tale is all about adultery. “Just like men, the wives have secrets, as does God”, says the Miller. Both have information that the other do not know about that are sacred and better left unsaid.
In the 14th century Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, which included a progressive view of women's concerns in "The Wife of Bath." During a time when women were still considered chattel existing almost exclusively to produce heirs, Chaucer takes a stand on issues affecting women that were not commonly given consideration. Writing in the first person, Chaucer is able to describe life from the viewpoint of a woman. Through this style, Chaucer addresses subject matter that would have been too candid for a female writer during his time period. By writing "The Wife of Bath" in a satirical way, Chaucer points out issues facing women regarding double standards, the validity of female desire, and the economic necessity of women to marry well while keeping the text humorous with some common female stereotypes regarding deception that have persisted into present day culture.
Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, demonstrate many different attitudes and perceptions towards marriage. Some of these ideas are very traditional, such as that illustrated in the Franklin’s Tale. On the other hand, other tales present a liberal view, such as the marriages portrayed in the Miller’s and The Wife of Bath’s tales. While several of these tales are rather comical, they do indeed depict the attitudes towards marriage at that time in history. D.W. Robertson, Jr. calls marriage "the solution to the problem of love, the force which directs the will which is in turn the source of moral action" (Robertson, 88). "Marriage in Chaucer’s time meant a union between spirit and flesh and was thus part of the marriage between Christ and the Church" (Bennett, 113). The Canterbury Tales show many abuses of this sacred bond, as will be discussed below.
Women have the ability to get what they want, when they want it. Chaucer portrays the Wife of bath as the dominant person in her marriages. She looks at men as her trinkets to be used and played with. She moves from one man to another, always looking for more. The Wife of Bath is a control freak, wanting to have sex when she desires it and with whom she desires.