The Marriage Debate in The Canterbury Tales Essay - 613 Words

The Cost of Marriage In Geoffrey Chaucers work, The Canterbury Tales, many travelers gather together to begin a pilgrimage. During their quest, each of the pilgrims proceed to tell a tale to entertain the group. From these stories arise four different tales, in which Chaucer uses to examine the concept of marriage and the problems that arise from this bonding of two people. In the tales of The Franklin, The Clerk, The Wife of Bath, and The Merchant, marriage is debated and examined from different perspectives. Out of the four tales, The Franklins Tale presents the most reasonable solution to the marriage debate because the problems are resolved with the least amount of heartache. In The Franklins Tale, a young†¦show more content†¦No womans heart was ever rubbed so sore (p. 138). Dorigens trials are results of hardships and misfortunes that she and her husband cannot control; however, Griseldas tests are intentional, unnecessary and cruel. Patience is another issue that The Franklins Tale deals with and exemplifies. Dorigens patience and perseverance allow her marriage to succeed. Patience is vital in a marriage and without it, problems begin to arise. In The Merchants Tale, January is increasingly watchful of May because he is blind and,...with fears that his young wife would stray. He wished death for himself and May (p. 209). May becomes frustrated with her marriage and commits adultery in the presence of her blind husband. January, sees the act; however, May convinces him that it was a dream. For May to be able to marry again she would have to wait for January to die. However sad as it may be, January is bound to die soon: he is already blind. But Mays impatience and deceitful nature taint her marriage and therefore it can never be pure. In The Wife of Baths Tale, sovereignty is the major subject that is dealt with in the marriage situation. The knight, in search of the correct answer of what women most desire in life, stumbles upon an old hag with the answer. In exchange for the answer, the knight is forced to marry the woman. The woman desires sovereignty over her husband, which is selfish and inconsiderate.Show MoreRelatedThe Canterbury Tales By William Shakespeare1708 Words   |  7 PagesThe Canterbury Tales are told in the passage of a Pilgrimage to Canterbury. We see that these characters all interact with one another, they all have different points of view on several topics. â€Å"The portraits [of the pilgrims] which appear in the General Prologue have a decided togetherness, that the portraits exist as parts of a unity† (Hoffman 492), Their actions and their tales should be thought about in context, who tells the tale, what is their age, what is his or her profession and how he orRead MoreThe Co mplex Character of the Merchant in The Canterbury Tales1388 Words   |  6 Pagesorder to surprise and convey a specific purpose later on. Chaucer demonstrates this idea in The Canterbury Tales, specifically with the Merchant character. In the General Prologue, Chaucer portrays the Merchant as a respectable character; however, he hints aspects of the Merchants personality that question this respectable image. The Merchant’s entire personality is later revealed in his Prologue and Tale, as it is made evident of his cynical and pessimistic outlook, making him less respectful. InRead MoreChaucers Justinus and Placebo Essay949 Words   |  4 PagesWhy do you think Chaucer included Justinus and Placebo? What does the latter’s debate contribute to the overall Tale? A number of factors come together to distance the reader from the characters in the tale, not least the complicated and ambiguous series of lenses through which they are viewed. They are all types or allegories to lesser or greater degrees. Justinus and Placebo are examples are personification allegories, representing the abstract properties of good and bad advice. This isRead MoreEssay on The Wife of Bath751 Words   |  4 PagesThe Wife of Bath Prologue and Tale In The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, The Wife of Bath seems to be one of the more cheerful characters on the pilgrimage. She has radical views about women and marriage in a time when women were expected to be passive toward men. There are many things consistent between The Wife of Baths prologue and her tale. The most obvious similarity that clearly shows the comparison between the prologue and the tale is dominance of both women over their husbandsRead More Summary and Analysis of The Merchants Tale Essay example1744 Words   |  7 PagesAnalysis of The Merchants Tale (The Canterbury Tales) Prologue to the Merchants Tale: The merchant claims that he knows nothing of long-suffering wives. Rather, if his wife were to marry the devil, she would overmatch even him. The Merchant claims that there is a great difference between Griseldes exceptional obedience and his wifes more common cruelty. The Merchant has been married two months and has loathed every minute of it. The Host asks the Merchant to tell a tale of his horrid wife. Read MoreCritical Analysis Of The Wife Of Bath1521 Words   |  7 Pagesvalue outside of being a wife and mother. â€Å"The Wife of Bath’s Tale† provides one of the most intriguing medieval cultural insights to gender studies. The reader joins a pilgrimage with the Canterbury Tale’s most audacious and sexually unrestricted female narrators who also gives a personal account of the conflicts women faced in Medieval England. The complexities, ambiguities and wit of his characters allows Chaucer to evoke humor in this tale, while displaying a sensitivity and varyi ng perspectives toRead MoreThe Variety of Ways in Which Chaucer Treats the Subject of Love1450 Words   |  6 Pagesstories in the Canterbury Tales, men and women on the way to, or in marriage provide the ostensible subject, with six tales expounding largely on love and its counterpart in marriage. In comic tales, sexual activity is constantly relished, especially in the Miller’s Tale and the Reeve’s Tale, where love is defined and motivated by animalistic physical desire and relationships clouded with lies and deceit. In contrast, romances like the Knight’s Tale and the Franklin’s Tale have a high idealRead MoreGeoffrey Chaucer Stance on Feminism1254 Words   |  6 Pages The investigation into whether or not Geoffrey Chaucer was ahead of his time in terms of his views on feminism has been up for debate for hundreds of years. The Wife of Bath’s Prologue is just one solitary example of the complicated nature of Chaucer’s belief system. On the one hand, we have many strong female characters that despite still being extremely dependant on the men in their lives, know what they want out of life. From a contrasting point of view, readers see a group of men, includingRead MoreThe Wife Of Bath s Tale Essay1164 Words   |  5 PagesThe Wife of Bath’s Tale in the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer is a very pivotal point in the text. It argues in favor of feminine dominance in marriage in a time where women were always under the skeptical view. The leading example of the medieval skeptical view of women is St. Jerome’s response against Jovinian. It shows how women were more restricted than men and thought to be in the fault for the wrong things that happen to them. Chaucer opposes that stereotype by introducing the Wife ofRead More Chaucers The Canterbury Tales: The Parson’s Tale Essay2219 Words   |  9 PagesChaucers The Canterbury Tales: The Parson’s Tale The critical acclaim for The Canterbury Tales as a whole is matched by the puzzlement over the work’s conclusion, the â€Å"Parson’s Tale† and Chaucer’s retraction. By modern standards, it hardly seems the â€Å"merry tale† the Parson promises his audience, and after the liveliness of much of the rest of the Tales, it appears to close the work not with a bang, but a whimper. However, this does not mean that the tale and retraction aren’t worthy