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Female roles in medieval literature
Short note on women characters in Chaucer's the Canterbury tales
Short note on women characters in Chaucer's the Canterbury tales
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In The Miller’s Tale, Chaucer introduces a romantic drama between a carpenter, his wife, her lover, and her suitor. This chaotic narrative belongs to the fabliau genre, as it depicts a fantastical and crude story that seems to deal satirically with the concept of love. However, Chaucer complicates the satirical narrative with the character of Alisoun. Instead of creating a traditional adulteress in the carpenter’s wife, Chaucer allows Alisoun to exist in multiple forms and produces a multidimensional character. Through the use of the male perspective, comparisons to animals, and Alisoun’s defiance of social boundaries, Chaucer frees Alisoun from becoming a stock character, as her many contradictory characteristics transform her into a complex …show more content…
The comparisons between Alisoun and things of nature turn her into a much more complicated character. When the Miller first introduces Alisoun, he describes her in a way that seems to highlight her role as an adulteress. He states, “Fair was this yonge wif…She was ful more bilsful on to see / Than is the newe perejonette tree …Hir mouth was sweete as bragot or the meeth, / Or hoord of apples laid in hay or heeth” (125-154). By comparing her to fruit, the Miller emphasizes Alisoun’s fruitfulness and equates her to an object ready to be harvested. The Miller then goes on to describe Alisoun as “a primerole, a piggesnye, / For any lord to leggen in his bedde, / Or yit for any good yeman to wedde” (160). This statement creates a connection between Alisoun’s nature (the primerole and piggesnye) to her sexuality, making this the focal point of Alisoun’s character. By constantly comparing Alisoun to the beautiful things of nature, Chaucer transforms Alisoun into a thing of nature itself, which emphasizes her sexuality. She is as beautiful as nature, but also as physical and licentious as nature. However, upon further inspection of the Miller’s description of Alisoun, it becomes clear that Alisoun’s character is more complex than merely a sexual object. In multiple instances, the Miller compares Alisoun to a young colt: “Winsing she was as is a joly colt, / Long as a mast, and upright …show more content…
Nicholas is credited with devising the plan to fool the carpenter so he and Alisoun can be together; however, what sets off the chain of events in the latter part of the story is Alisoun’s trick on Absolon. When Absolon comes to court Alison, she says she will give him a kiss, but then, “And at the windowe out she putte hir hole, / And Absolon, him fil no bet ne wers, / But with his mouth he kiste hir naked ers, / Ful savourly, er he were war of this” (624). This spectacularly crude action goes beyond all rules of social propriety and demonstrates her desire to not be typecast as a traditional woman. Moreover, it illustrates her ability to reject a suitor. Unlike the Wife of Bath, who accepts multiple suitors, Alisoun has a very clear idea of who she does and does not want to be with. Additionally, her choice between Nicholas and Absolon also demonstrates her ability to break away from traditional social expectations. When the Miller describes Nicholas, he states, “This clek was cleped hende Nicholas. / Of derne love he coude, and of solas, / And thereto he was sly and ful of privee” (91-112). He is a cunning and sly astrology student, while on the other hand, Absolon is a parish clerk and belongs to the institution of the Church. Nicholas’ rebellious and Absolon’s traditional
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.
Chaucer's "The Miller's Tale" should be tragic, because a lot of horrible things happen to the characters. The carpenter's wife is disloyal to him, sleeping with others and making fun of him with Nicholas. Also, he is depicted as a fool. However, readers get a humorous feeling from the story, rather than feeling sorry for the carpenter's unfair life. Chaucer makes the whole story come across as comic rather than tragic. This humor is created by the Miller's narration, the use of irony, the cartoon-like characters, and the twists of plot. These elements combine to produce an emotional distance which enhances the comic effect.
sly and cunning. The description of Alison clearly indicates that she is very different from an innocent girl from courtly love stories instead she?s well aware of her husbands jealousy and wears elaborate cloths to show off her beauty. ? Of col-blak silk, withinne and eek withoute? Alison shows off that she?s rich by wearing the most expensive fabric of silk at the time, again this adds to the opposite side of courtly love romances in which the girl would not show off but in fact stay unaware of such matters as the character of Emily in the Knights tale.
Forbes, Shannon. "'To Alisoun Now Wol I Tellen Al My Love-Longing': Chaucer's Treatment of the Courtly Love Discourse in the Miller's Tale." Women's Studies 36.1 (2007): 1-14. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 May 2013
Some say women can get the worst out of a man, but in The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer in 1485, proves it. The tales were originally written as a collection of twenty four tales, but has been narrowed down to three short tales for high school readers. The three tales consist of “The Miller”, “The Knight”, and “The Wife of Bath” along with their respective prologues. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer shows the weak but strong role of women throughout the “The Knight’s Tale” and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” to contrast different human characteristics and stereotypes on the spectrum of people.
In the Miller's Tale, Chaucer blatantly mocks courtesy and courtly love in Nicholas’ exchange with Alison:
Alison in the Miller's Tale and May of the Merchant's Tale are similar in several ways. Both are young women who have married men much older than themselves. They both become involved with young, manipulative men. They also conspire to and do cuckold their husbands. This is not what marriage is about and it is demonstrated in both tales. What makes the Miller's Tale bawdy comedy and the Merchant's tale bitter satire is in the characterization. In the Miller's tale we are giving stereotyped characters. The principals are cardboard cut-outs sent into farcical motion. The Merchant's Tale gives us much more background and detail of the character's lives. The reader is more involved and can feel their situations. Here we will focus on the two women of each tale and how they demonstrate this difference.
Sexual relations between men and woman have created issues of life and death from the beginning of time. In most classic Western beliefs it began when Eve with the help of the Devil seduced Adam thus leading the downfall of humanity into an abyss of sin and hopelessness. This issue arises in all literature from Genesis, Chaucer and into modern day. Authors, clerks and writers of all types have aided stereotyping women throughout history and Geoffrey Chaucer is not an exception in most cases. However, in Chaucer's Wife of Bath we can find the beginnings of a new type of woman arising from the dark ages of the post-Roman era. And of course at the center of his character's struggle is sex. As this topic develops, we shall take a brief look into sex, women, the Middle Ages and Chaucer's Wife of Bath as an example of Middle Ages reflections.
By comparing the prologue with the opening of the tale, the reader can understand that the narrative voice of the Merchant signifies contrary to what is denotatively stated. The Merchant opens the tale deriding the institution of marriage:
In the Miller’s Tale, the story tells of a carpenter and his wife, Allison and how she is pursued by multiple men. The first man to pursue her is Nicolas, a man boarding with the Miller. When the carpenter is away he begins flirting with Allison in hopes of making love. Originally she refuses, but eventually she gives in to his will. Chaucer seems to be pointing out that women are easily swayed by temptation by showing us that Allison is unable to stop herself from making love with Nicolas. In addition Chaucer is also showing us how disloyal women can by using Allison’s extramarital affair as an example. However this stereotyping is not just limited to women in the miller tale but also reaches men too. Later in the story, Nicolas manages to convince the carpenter that there is going to be a massive flood and that he should hide. However this is all just a lie, which Nicolas is using to get the carpenter out of the way so he can be with Allison. Through the carpenter, it seems as if Chaucer is pointing out that men are generally gullible and easily fooled. The stereotyping continues when Absolon enters the story and attempts to woo the likes of Allison. Absolon is unsuccessful in his attempt to woo her however, and Allison tricks him by pretending to offer him ...
The “Wife of Bath’s Prologue” shows that Alisoun was empowered by the ability use her sexuality. As she introduces her tale, Alisoun makes it clear that she sees marriage as a way to gain money and status, “Of fyve husbondes
In “the Miller’s Tale”, the miller talks about a parish clerk called Absolon that portrays the common courtly lover, he is the man that can’t even sleep at night, because all he thinks about is Alison and how much he is in love with her. He is also the kind of man that thinks the best way to win over a woman’s heart is by gifts and courtesy and the promise to serve a them and make them happy. He is also a man that is “… somdeel squaimous of farting, and of speech daungerous” (244), meaning that he doesn’t like vulgar language and farting. Absolon can just be portrayed as a very decent, well mannered man, while Nicholas the other clerk is the complete opposite of what Absolon is. “This clerk was cleped hende Nicholas. Of derne love he coude, and of solas, And therto he a was sly and ful privee, and like...
In the Middle Ages, when The Canterbury Tales was written, society became captivated by love and the thought of courtly and debonair love was the governing part of all relationships and commanded how love should be conducted. These principles changed literature completely and created a new genre dedicated to brave, valorous knights embarking on noble quests with the intention of some reward, whether that be their life, lover, or any other want. The Canterbury Tales, written in the 14th century by Geoffrey Chaucer, accurately portrays and depicts this type of genre. Containing a collection of stories within the main novel, only one of those stories, entitled “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”, truly outlines the 14th century community beliefs on courtly love.
As a man fascinated with the role of women during the 14th Century, or most commonly known as the Middle Ages, Chaucer makes conclusive evaluations and remarks concerning how women were viewed during this time period. Determined to show that women were not weak and humble because of the male dominance surrounding them, Chaucer sets out to prove that women were a powerful and strong-willed gender. In order to defend this argument, the following characters and their tales will be examined: Griselda from the Clerk's Tale, and the Wife of Bath, narrator to the Wife of Bath's Tale. Using the role of gender within the genres of the Canterbury Tales, exploring each woman's participation in the outcomes of their tales, and comparing and contrasting these two heroines, we will find out how Chaucer broke the mold on medievalist attitudes toward women.
Two of the greatest masters of British literature, Shakespeare and Chaucer, tended to look to the classics when searching for inspiration. A lesser-known example of this lies in an ancient tale from Greece about two star-crossed lovers. There are many variations on the names of these lovers, but for the purpose of solidarity, they shall henceforth be referred to as “Troilus and Criseyde” for Chaucer and “Troilus and Cressida” for Shakespeare. Chaucer’s “Troilus and Criseyde” offers up a classic tale of love that is doomed, whereas Shakespeare’s “Troilus and Cressida” is not only tragic but also biting in its judgment and representation of characters. This difference may be due to the differences in time periods for the two authors, or their own personal dispositions, but there can be no denying the many deviations from Chaucer’s work that Shakespeare employs. Shakespeare’s work, by making the characters and situations more relatable, builds upon Chaucer’s original work, rather than improving it or shattering it.