THe Canterbury tales - Essay Example

Whether or not this was a sexual rape is a matter of speculation because of a lot of suspicions surrounding the accusation. This could have been a kind of abduction, Chaucer might have been just standing in for a friend of his in the royal family, and most importantly, Cecelia Chaumpaigne might not be a credible accuser. While any of these could be the reality, but the audiences do not know any more than what is shown by the sparse record i.e. Chaucer not only acknowledges but also eventually compensates with a ten pound debt, which is equal to nearly half of his annual salary as a customs official.

From the few related records, it seems reasonable to infer that Chaucer had committed sexual rape. Even his act of paying a substantial amount of money reflects his guilt. It is left to the speculation of the audience to think about the identity of Cecelia Chaumpaigne and the nature of her relationship with Chaucer. Chaucer’s personal life is so hidden that hardly anything can be thought with surety about the relationship between him and his wife, so thinking of his relationship with a woman whose life and parentage is completely unknown is out of question.

A range of Chaucer’s texts are based on the scenes of ambiguous consent and rape either obliquely or explicitly. With the increase in the statistics of sexual assault in the college campuses, Chaucer’s subject and consent is relevant to both teachers and students of the medieval English literature. The important questions is, “How are we to reconcile our admiration for Chaucer's powers of representation to his possible identity as a rapist in ways that feel responsible to issues of gender and power?

” (Houlik-Ritchey). With Chaucer having such a controversial character, it is hard to guess how he presents the character of the knight in The Wife of Bath’s Tale so obedient and considerate toward women. It is just as hard to realize a character that is beastly enough to commit the rape of the beautiful young maiden in Arthur’s court stick to his promise of granting the wish of the old hag and actually getting married to her against his wish when the old had demands that in compensation for the guidance she offers.

The knight sleeps with the old woman even though he remains miserable throughout. In the end of the story, the knight chooses to leave this decision for the old woman to make as to whether she should be beautiful but unfaithful or ugly but faithful. This attitude is also unpredictable of a man who is so inconsiderate and beastly to be overdrawn with lust and commit rape. Understandably, since the knight grants his wife the power to make decision, she becomes both beautiful and faithful to the wish of the knight.

Perhaps, (Chaucer) conjured up this story in order to cast an impression upon the audience that an individual who is accused of rape and has actually committed it can also be so kind, considerate, and wise to make the right decisions, to fulfill his commitments to even the ugliest of women, and to realize and appreciate the intellectual power of women. His ability to create such impressions is one reason why Chaucer was known as the “Father of English Poetry” (Patterson). Concluding, the ending of The Wife of Bath’s Tale is unexpected because of the controversial character of Chaucer.

Chaucer is accused of rape. Despite the lack of objective