Attitude Towards Women Essay Example for Free

Attitude Towards Wo manpower EssayOne of the most prominent themes in the Canterbury Tales is the attitudes of the pilgrims towards women. on that point are two distinct sides in the dispute that women are simply objects of inclination that must never be trusted, and that women are highly respectable and loving. The Shipmans Tale starts off this debate with his depiction of women, which was less(prenominal) than favorable. The adult female who is depicted in this narrative is the wife of a merchant. She is not treated well by her save, but certainly is not trustworthy or honorable herself. She sells her body to the best friend of her husband for a measly 100 francs. Her faithfulness to her husband was worth only a few fast garments for her to wear.It is her greed for these material goods that drives her into cuckolding her unsuspecting husband. Her worldly desires are more important than her marriage, and in the end she is hardly punished at all. She does manage to keep he r husband from finding out, by saying that the Monk was simply repaying his debt and she used the money to buy some clothes. So, she gets away with a crime that would have dealt her a farthermost greater punishment. This outcome, while it certainly wasnt perfect for the wife, was much less than she deserved (Rossignol). The prioress steps in with the next tale, and takes a much different view.The Prioress herself is a very humble and well-mannered woman, as she is described in the General Prologue. She is also extremely compassionate towards all of Gods creatures. Her tale is a pension to the greatest woman of all, the Virgin Mary. While it is a tribute to the Virgin, the focus of the novel is more on the little boy and his widowed mother. The mother is greatly distressed at her sons disappearance, and is eventually led by delivery boy himself to the place where her son has been tossed. The idea that Jesus himself was consorting with this woman and answering her prayers films a strong statement. Jesus certainly would not aid an sliminess person, so this widow must have been virtuous and humble (Rossignol). And upon her finding of the little boy, the miracle of the Virgin Mary is presented. The boy, who had praised her and love her throughout his short life, now sang because of the grain placed on his tongue by Mary herself.The story praises a woman who is unmatched in virtue by any mortal man, and shows a widowed mother to be humble and virtuous herself. Certainly a different view than was displayed in the Shipmans Tale. The tales of Chaucer himself followed the Prioress Tale. The first of which, the Tale of Sir Thopas, didnt take as strong stance on any attitude towards women as did the two tales that preceded it. It did, however, portray women to be objects of lust and affection which could put a man in grave danger. This is what the reader might expect from Chaucer, since he does place himself among some of the other rascals of the group in the Gener al Prologue. The other rascals (the Reeve and Miller especially) had already told stories that depicted women as objects of male desire. Sir Thopas, the knight, left his hometown of Flanders because he had become bored with the local maidens. On his adventure, he dreamt of a beautiful extremely low frequency Queen, with whom he fell desperately in love (Ruud).He searched the forest in search of her, and vowed to never stop until her instal her. When he met the three-headed giant who stood in his way, he went back home to prepare to fight. He was ready to risk his life to gain the love of the Elf Queen. The Elf Queen in this story is an object of lust and desire, much like the merchants wife in the Shipmans Tale. Since the story is make out short, though, the reader never gets a meet to see what this Queen is really like. All that is seen is that she has captured the heart of this young and noble knight, which has him risking his life in search of her. After Chaucers first sorry tale is cut short, he moves on to the Tale of Melibee. In this story some different attitudes towards woman are actually discussed verbally amongst the characters. Melibee talks of how all women are evil and none are good. But, his wife Prudence responds to that by saying that Jesus would never have been born to an evil woman, nor would he have appeared to a woman after his resurrection. So, not all women could be evil. This point is accepted by Melibee, as her point has been clearly made.Also, she points out women who have saved the lives of their husbands and who were truthful to them. As this argument continues, Prudence continues to sway Melibee to accept her argument. She does this with good intentions as well. She does not want her husband to go to war with these enemies of his which certainly could put them all in danger. By the end of the story, she has convinced him so thoroughly that he ignores the advice of his counsel, and follows her advice almost to the letter (Ruud). He does, however, give his enemies a bit of a verbal bawl out against her wishes. It is quite possible that he did this simply to maintain himself as the sovereign lord of his estate, and to show Prudence that she has not gained complete mastery over him. This story takes an opposite approach towards women than Chaucer did in the Tale of Sir Thopas. But, since Chaucer does portray himself in the tales as a dunce, it is possible that this character is simply to doltish to make up his chief and take a solid stance on the issue. The Nuns Priest has the final say in the matter.The Priest is traveling with the Prioress, so before reading this tale one might think that he will be afraid to offend her. This story deals extensively on this issue, and has to main points which reveal the Priests attitude towards women. Chauntecleer quotes a Latin phrase that he says means that women are the bliss of men. However, the phrase actually said that women are mens ruin. So why did Chauntecleer li e to Pertelote when he told her this out of true translation? Well, quite possibly because he didnt want to ail her any further, and because he was about to spend the whole morning having sex with her. If he had upset her further, she may have turned him away.Chauntecleer also began to compliment her looks along with changing the meaning of the Latin phrase because he loved her and he wanted to make love to her. So, this is in fact showing that women are the bliss of men, since Chauntecleer is going out of his way to please Pertelote (Scala). By afternoon of the same day, the story takes quite a turn. Pertelote had criticized Chauntecleer for being so cowardly after his dream, and he flew down from his safe perch because of her insults.Because of this, his vision soon came true, and he was captured by the fox. If it had not been for Pertelote rag him because of his cowardice, he would have stayed in his perch in safety. Now, the true meaning of the Latin phrase is also shown as t rue, as Pertelote has caused the ruin of the great Chauntecleer. There is one substantial difference in this story, however. When Chauntecleer is taken away by the fox, Pertelote shrieks and is quite distressed, as the story emphasizes. She expresses genuine concern for Chauntecleer, unlike the wife in the Shipmans Tale and Dalilah in the Monks Tale. So, the Nuns Priests point on the matter is quite simple. Women are the bliss of men, but, whether intentionally or not, also bring about the ruin of the men they love.Works CitedRossignol, Rosalyn. The Shipmans Tale. censorious chap to Chaucer A Literary filename extension to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York Facts On File, Inc., 2007.Blooms Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web.Rossignol, Rosalyn. The Prioress Tale. Critical Companion to Chaucer A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York Facts On File, Inc., 2007.Blooms Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web.Scala, Elizabeth, and Michelle M. Sauer.The Nuns Priests Tale. In Sauer, Michelle M. The Facts On File Companion to British Poetry before 1600. New York Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Blooms Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web.Ruud, Jay. The Tale of Sir Thopas. Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature. New York Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Blooms Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web.