Love in Knight's Tale and Wife of Bath's Tale

Love in Knight's Tale and Wife of Bath's Tale

The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer around 1386, is a collection of tale told by pilgrims on a religious pilgrimage. Two of these tales, "The Knight's Tale" and "The Wife of Bath's Tale", involve different kinds of love and different love relationships. Some of the loves are based on nobility, some are forced, and some are based on mutual respect for each partner. My idea of love is one that combines aspects from each of the tales told in The Canterbury Tales.

In "The Knight's Tale", the love between the two knights and Emelye is intensely powerful. The love that Palomon and Arcite feel towards Emelye is so strong that the two knights feel that it is worth more than their own lives. At one point, Palomon tells Arcite that he shall either have Emelye or he shall die. The love that Palomon feels for Emelye is so overwhelming that he is willing to take on an armed man, in mortal combat, just for the love of a woman. Perhaps he feels that without her, he will surely die, so why not die trying to win her? The ironic fact about the relationship between each knight and Emelye is the fact that Emelye does not wish to marry either of the knights. She is aware that she is just a prized possession, one that is not fully known, because she has never exchanged a single word with either gentleman. However, in that time period, she could not easily express her feelings, and if she were able to, those feelings would most likely be ignored.

Like already mentioned, this is so ironic because Arcite and Palomon are about to kill each other for Emelye's love and she doesn't want to be loved by either of them. She enjoys the thrills of maidenhood too much to have them ended by ...

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The Wife of Bath has used men in her life for riches. She leans toward a feminist nature and seems resentful toward most men. For women, she is easy to respect and admire. She is an intelligent woman, however, she may not know the limits of her games. That is the beauty of society. Thousands of years after this novel has been written, men and women still don not know what one another want. In taking both Psychology and Sociology this year, I hope to grasp a better understanding on how both sexes co-exist with one another.

Works Consulted:

Chaucer, Geoffrey. “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale.” From The Riverside Chaucer, Third Edition. Ed. Larry D. Benson. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1987.

Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed Mack, Maynard et al. W. W. Norton and Co. New York, NY. 1992. 1551-1621.