Women's roles in the Canterbury Tales

Throughout history, women develop taken different roles in society. They gain gone from doing things like being a war wedge heel like Joan of Arc to being a powerful and potent politician like Condoleezza Rice. But in Medieval Times, at that place were three types of women that were socially accepted: the virgin, the wife, and the widow. In his frame fib The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer reflects the attitudes of these three types of women within the context of his different tales. He as well demonstrates his societys social heirarchy for women. He only uses this, however, to emphasize his disagreement with the native order of things. In his tales, Chaucer portrays the virgin to be pure and the determination of all mens desire, the wife to be completely low a mans control, and the widow to be strong willed and independent, yet undesirable, covering the lack of power that women have in Medieval times.
In The Knights Tale (KT), Chaucer represents Emily as the beautiful and fair virgin. He does this by comparing her to temper, which is a symbol of purity and innocence.



Young Emily, that fairer was of mein/Than is the lily on its stalk of green,/And fresher in her colouring that strove/With early roses in a May-time grove/--I know not which was fairer of the two-- (Chaucer KT 177-181) Chaucers use of nature in describing Emily shows her as a virgin, attracting the two protagonists of The Knights Tale to her at first sight. This sounds like a typical love triangle, just it is much more than that. The two protagonists mentioned before have neer even met the woman that they yearn for and have only seen her from atop a very tall tower. Even without speaking a word to this beautiful woman, they fight with each other and have said things such as this; Yet you would treacherously go about/To love my lady, whom I love and serve/ And shall, public treasury death cut my hearts nerve. (KT, 284-287) Arcite says this to Palamon in The Knights Tale after Palamon tells him that he...If you ask to get a full essay, order it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com



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