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The portrayal of women Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.

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In Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales women are portrayed as either flawed characters or simply as objects to be used by the men around them.

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Quote #1:
“This lovely woman readily agreed/To take his hundred francs and to requite/Sir John by lying in his arms all night./And just as was agreed, so it was done./All night they led a life of busy fun/Till dawn came up.”(The Canterbury Tales, pg 204)

Explanation:
The wife of the merchant asks the Monk, the Merchants best friend, to lend her 100 francs so she can buy a dress. The monk agrees to, and in return she has to sleep with him. This instance is an example of the wife using her body as a currency, as money to repay the monk. The quote is right when she takes the francs from the monk and they have the whole night together while the Merchant is out for the night on a business trip. The monk and the Merchant are like brothers, The Merchant trusts his greatly and would never doubt him in his mind. The Monk does not hesitate to think about the relationship he would be ruining by sleeping with the Mechants wife. He never thinks about her much as if she is just an object that will grant him pleasure. He never thinks of the consequences or how the wife feels.

Quote #2:
“My jolly body’s pledged to you instead; By God I’ll never pay except in bed. Forgive me, dearest husband, just this while; Turn round again and let me see you smile!’”(The Canterbury Tales, pg 208)

Explanation:
Once the Monk and the Wife have sex the next day the Merchant returns. Once he gets home the Monk leaves but on his way out tells the merchant that he has the money for his wife. They say goodbye and then the Monk is on his way, the merchant has no idea what happened. Afterwards the Merchant confronts the wife and she tells him she spent it on dresses. The Merchant scolds her for spending it on useless stuff and that she had to manage the money more wisely. In order to repay him and to calm him down she offers him her body. This quote is another example of women's bodies being used as a form of money. How she has no way to repay her husband since she can not work she must resort to using her body. The wife is treated as an object to him, as a social status that will just stand by his side to look good. Something he can show-off to everyone. She is an object that is supposed to clean, cook, look good, and manage their money.

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Quote #1:
“‘But never ye mind, all shall be for the best; I tell ye John, as sure as I'm a man, I'm going to have that wench there, if I can" ( page 115)

Explanation:
John does not think twice about taking advantage of the Miller's wife in order to exact their revenge upon him. He does not see her as a human being but rather as an object they can use to get pleasure and to get back at the man who has cheated them. The idea that they would be committing a rape never enters their mind and they see no problem with what they intend to do.

Quote #2:
“Three times the neet, from midnight into morn,/The miller’s daughter helped me grind my corn”(The Canterbury Tales, pg 151)

Explanation:
Alan notices that the daughter of the wife is quite beautiful and that she is still pure, a virgin. That if she ever wishes to get married to a man, then she must be a virgin in their society. He knows that it would be the best way to get revenge on Miller. Not only can she not get married now but the Millers' social status will be dropped greatly. This quote is a perfect example of how the daughter was just used to get revenge on Miller and her feelings were not thought of as she was tossed aside. The quote says “helped me grind my corn” which means that they had sex. Alan took her virginity to get revenge as if she was an object, never thought of again. He never hesitated or thought that he might have been doing something wrong, he never thought that he would also be ruining her whole life.

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The Reeve's Tale and The Merchant's Tale

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Quote #1:
“John waited for a while, then gave a leap/And thrust himself upon this worthy wife./It was the merriest fit in all her life,/For John went deep and thrust away like mad.”(The Canterbury Tales, pg 150)

Explanation:
The miller is finally asleep and John decides to “thrust” himself upon the wife, his plan for revenge. They have sex and the wife does not resist at all and does not hesitate. This quote is an example of how women are disloyal. As the quote states John and the Wife of the Miller have sex and the Wife does not resist at all or hesitate about wether or not they should stop. Meanwhile her husband is literally sleeping right next to her. She does not care at all and goes along with it. She never thinks about her husband, the one that she has children with, even a baby. She decides for just that pleasure that it is worth risking and ruining everything. The Wife is a flawed character who has no morals or fears no consequences.

Quote #2:
“He cast his eyes into the tree above/Only to see that Damian had addressed/His wife in ways that cannot be expressed/Unless I use a most discourteous word./He gave a roaring cry, as might be heard/From stricken mothers when their babies die.”(The Canterbury Tales, pg 457)

Explanation:
A knight by the name of January is married to a young and beautiful woman named May. During their marriage a squire, named Daemon, falls deeply in love with May and they start exchanging love letters. One day January becomes blind out of nowhere so May and Dameon create a plan. May takes a walk with January in their garden, but May lets Dameon into the garden and while January is still there they sneak into a tree and have sex. This is a perfect example of disloyalty because as soon as her husband becomes blind she no longer cares for him and now has feelings for Dameon. The quote is the part when January is granted back his sight and sadly sees his wife, May, having sex with Dameon in the tree right while he is underneath him. May takes no pity in her husband at all, decides that she is no longer any use to him, except for the money. She is glad that he has gone blind, for now she can do what ever she wishes. She is a flawed character because if the moment arises where she could cheat on her husband, she does not hesitate to act.

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Quote #1:
“I’ll have a husband yet/Who shall be both my debtor and my slave/And bear his tribulation to the grave/Upon his flesh, as long as I’m his wife./For mine shall be the power all his life/Over his proper body, and not he,”(The Canterbury Tales, pg 315)

Explanation:
The Wife of Bath defends herself and explains why it is ok for her to have been married 5 times. She  explains that she does not need to be a virgin. She does this by talking about God and how he never said to only marry once and to never again. She believes that men should also be like slaves to women, that they do whatever they want. She has manipulated each of her husbands eventually into giving her total control of everything, the relationship and all of their money and property. This quote is a perfect example of how women are portrayed as manipulators. This quote talks about how men must be slaves to their wives and they owe them everything until they die. Her husband may resist at first but she will manipulate them and use her charm to bend to her will. She will literally do anything to get her way. She is a flawed character because she will use or destory anything that gets in her way, without hesistation or thinking about the feelings and consequences of the ones she manipulates.

Quote #2:
“‘Whatever it may cost,/Hurry and help, or we shall all be lost./I am your honest, true and wedded wife,/Go, dearest husband, help to save my life!’”(The Canterbury Tales, pg 131)

Explanation:
John is an old man and a carpenter, he also has a young and beautiful wife. Nicholas is a student that is studying astrology and during his studies John is letting him board at their house. During the stay he becomes in love with Allison but they are not able to sneak around well with John still there. One night Nicholas and Allison come up with a plan, Nicholas tells John that God has told him that a flood is coming and that it will wipe out the whole town. John of course believes him because John is very faithful and Nicholas’s studies are related to religion. They decide to hang bath tubs outside so that when the flood comes they can cut them down whole they are sleeping inside of them and float away. Once they are all in the tubs and John is asleep Allsion and Nicholas sneak away to have sex. This quote is another example of women manipulating others, she gets her husband to sleep in a bathtub just so she can have an affair with Nicholas. This quote is when John is on his way to go get bath tubs and prepare for the flood in order to save them. By begging and using her charm she completely convinces him. She does not think that there is anything wrong with what she is doing, she has no morals. She is a flawed character because she does not hesitate when she decides to manipulate and deceive her husband, who she has pledged her life and body to.

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In Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales women are portrayed as either flawed characters or simply as objects to be used by the men around them. Women are for the most part disloyal and manipulative, getting their way no matter what gets in their way, which includes husbands. Not only are they used as objects of trade, but also as objects of revenge. Women are caught in the middle of childish revenge between men and are left in the dust afterwards, used like objects and then abandoned. In Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales if women are not used and abused as if they are objects by men, then they are the ones manipulating and betraying the men.

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Excellent work Peter ! You used your evidence well and explained how it fit into your thesis. You also displayed a thorough understanding of the stories you used. Well done !
A+