Portrayal of Women in the Canterbury Tales - Book Report/Review Example

Chaucer uses the his tale of Prioress to portray women as passive and innocent despite the fact Prioress indicates some level of violence and anti-Semitism which contradicts her permissive role in the society. Prioress’s passive and innocent character is particularly depicted by her strong desire to be a mother. Although she can not have a child due to her religious obligations, her feminine nurturing instincts are evident in her language and actions. For example she treats her small dog as though it was her child.

In this regard, Chaucer effectively uses the character of Prioress to highlight the passive nurturing role of women in the medieval society. Women are also depicted as sometimes helpless and innocent and this is particularly evident when the widow could not find her son anywhere. Additionally the fact that Prioress strongly identified with the story of the widows helplessness signifies her submissiveness and weakness of character. Contrastingly Prioress also manifests a violent anti-Semite behavior which in essence contradicts her initial feminine character.

Prioress feminine and passive attributes are however manifested in more ways. For example she has good table manners, she wore beautiful dresses and this is a sign of her feminine passive role in the society. In the medieval society, women were regarded as passive and their position and role in the society was largely determined by their sexual attributes such as motherhood, nurturing ability as well as beauty and virginity. Another important tale that George Chaucer has used to portray the passive role of women in the medieval society is the tale of the Wife of Bath.

For example in her long prologue, the wife of bath narrates that women have power over men. Although this perception contrasts with Millers idea of men and women relationships, it is in line with the general view that women always have the upper hand in the society. The Wife of Bath had been married to five men and through her experience with each of them; she has gained significant experience on how to manipulate men (74). She narrates that although most of her husbands seemed weary of her manipulation, they were seemingly happy with being in a relationship with her (115).

The wife of Bath also uses her fifth husband to narrate the expenses which men usually incur by choosing to go against the wishes of their wives. For example she took revenge by ripping out the pages of her husband’s favorite book when he went against her wishes. Consequently this highlights the deceitfulness and cunning character of women. The irony is however the Fact that despite her mastery over her five husbands, the wife of bath however believes in the passivity of women and she subscribes to the idea that there is nothing wrong with women being raped.

This is particularly reinforced by the story of the lusty knight. The second nun’s tale further emphasizes on the submissive role of women in the medieval society. There is also evidence of courage when the nun courageously defies marriage standards and decides to keep her virginity for