The Significance of Women in Chaucers The Cantebury Tales Essay

The Signifi cannisterce of Wowork force in Chaucers The Cantebury boshs In Geoffrey Chaucers The Cantebury Tales, umteen stories be told leading to a wide range of topics. One busy and significant topic Chaucer touches on many times is the role of women. In stories such as The Millers Tale, The Knights Tale, and the Wife of Baths Tale the women of each story are portrayed extremely different. Alisoun, Emelye, and the wife of Bath, each exemplify three heterogeneous ways in which women love. The way Chaucer describes each of these characters is dependent on the by come of each particular story. Chaucer is careful with his word choice and metaphoric language with each woman, enabling the reader to get a very(prenominal) visual and sometimes humorous picture. Since the Millers Tale is a parody of the Knights Tale there is great wit when it comes to the role that Alisoun plays. Emelye on the other hand, is constructed in a more serious and respectful way. Emelye of the Knights Tale has two men madly in love with her- Arcite and Palamon. These two men are engrossed for life and can only imagine the idea of loving and having Emelye as a wife. Palamon upon seeing Emelye cries, Into myn herte, that wol my bane ./ The fairnese of that lady that I see / Yond in the gardyn romen to and fro / Is cause of al my criying and my wo. / I noot where she be woman or goddesse. . . (1097-1101). His debate of love is so profound that Palamon is not even sure if Emelye is a woman or a goddess, but is sure of her fairness and beauty. Arcite as well loves Emelye and ridicules Palamons thoughts about Emelye being a goddess, he states, Though woost nat yet at one time / Wheiter she be a womman or goddesse(1156-1157). When Arcite falls in... ...e and foolish people can act while in love this is something that many stories try to instruct their readers. Finally, somehow, Chaucer may have been reaching out to women with The Wife of Baths Tale, although some turn over she is used as an anti-feminist tool, perhaps Chaucers point was to have that woman larn other women the positives of being in control. No matter what message these women bring, Chaucer all the way appreciates their importance not only to his readers, but also to his tales. Works Cited Brown, Peter. Chaucer at Work The Making of the Cantebury Tales. New York Longman Group, 1994. Cooper, Helen. The Structure of The Cantebury Tales. Athens The University Of Georgia Press, 1984. Pursell, Willene cutting edge Loenen. Love and Marriage in Three English Authors Chaucer, Milton, and Eliot. Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, 1963.