Introduction
"Women are the real architects of society. " A civilization cannot grow without women. The importance and integrity of women have always been accepted and guarded to some extent in the past. During the time period of Chaucer, women were not an active part of the society except some did live in convents and others fulfilled their household duties. In Canterbury Tales, there are two woman characters who illustrate two different classes of women during the Pre-Renaissance Phase. The first and "respectable" Wife of Bath and the virtuous Prioress.
Wife of Bath
Her Appearance
The Wife of Bath possessed a bold and fair red face and gaps in her teeth. The head-dress which she used to wear on Sundays was of the finest texture and weighted ten pounds because of their good quality. Her dress was clean, the colour of her hose was fine scarlet (reddish) and her supple new and ready. Which indicate that she might have been a good horse rider because, at that time, only men used to wear supple. Her body was perfectly crafted for a licentious purpose.
Skills and Exaggeration
As mentioned above, she had been a fine horse-rider. But there was another skill which she possessed and showcased in such a way which made Chaucer use the element of exaggeration for her particular skill. She had been one of the most skilful cloth-makers that (according to Chaucer) she had surpassed the weavers of Ypres and Ghent (the cities of Eastern Europe). Some critics also quote Chaucer's expression as an exaggeration as, during the Medieval Era, the Eastern Europe was far expert in the art of cloth-making than the West Europeans from where the Wife of Bath belonged to. She was also adept in the art of gassing and lovemaking as she had been an old player of that game of love.
In company well she could laugh her slurs
The remedies of love she knew, perchance
For of that she learned the old dance
Her Dominant Nature
She had married five husbands and she was in search of the sixth one. That is why she had been a part of the pilgrimage. She was not feeling satisfied as she could not practice her dominance over her husbands. The reason behind her deafness was she was slapped by her fourth husband on account of tearing a storybook titled "Sarcasm on Women". D. H. Lawrence classifies the reasons behind a relationship, love, lust and dominance, the last twos are fatal to maintain a relationship. She was awfully failed in upholding her dominance over five husbands. Consequently, she ventured for the sixth one, using her tempting body as a tool.
Symbolism
The gap-teeth of Wife of Bath has been symbolized for two aspects to highlight. First, it symbolizes her moral weakness of marrying five husbands and carrying affairs with a number of young people in her youth. Secondly, it denotes to her travel in various lands. It is no lie that she had been three times in Jerusalem while eyeing Rome, Cologne and Boulogne.
The Prioress
Her Appearance and Social Status
The Prioress was a nun of higher rank and an administrator of the convent in where other nuns lived and supervised by her. She had a fine pointing nose and eyes as blue (during Medieval Age, people used grey for blue) as glass. Her face was soft, small and red and a fair forehead. Her head-dress was nicely worn, her cloak was neatly fashioned. A locket with the word 'A' and 'Love Conquers All' could also be seen hanging around her neck.
Her Skills and Table Manners
The Prioress was at home in singing divine services or songs. Beside oral utterance, she could use her nasal intonation for melody too. She was fluent in speaking French but not in the original dialect of Paris, only she knew the dialect of Stratford at Bow. Her table manners were matchless too. She did not let a morsel and even a drop of the soup fall from her mouth. Her fingers did not drown in the gravy. She cleaned the plates or cups in a way as if there was nothing in it.
And never from her lips let morsels fell,
Nor dipped her fingers deep in sauce, but ate
with so much care the food upon her plate
That never driblet fell upon her breast
Her Meek Heart
The Prioress was an amiable lady. She was so kind-hearted that she wept if she saw a dead bleeding mouse caught in a trap. She also owned small dogs and she fed them with expensive edibles: roasted meat, milk and finest wheaten bread. She would weep bitterly if one of her dogs was dead or whipped by someone.
And she had little dogs, too, that she fed
With roasted flesh, or milk, or fine white bread.
And bitterly she wept if one were dead
Her Religious Deficiencies
In Christianity, there are three vows which a nun has to fulfil.
- Vow of Charity: A nun will spend her wealth on poor and needy people.
- Vow of Chastity: A nun will remain chaste and devoid of any sexual desires throughout her life: so that she may fully concentrate on worshipping the God Almighty only.
- Vow of Obedience: A nun will follow the code of religion and the rules set by religious authorities.
The Prioress was, no doubt, a good woman but her charity was limited to animals only. There was no sign of obedience in her character as any sort of journey, be it religious or casual was strictly prohibited by their Bishop but she was journeying towards the tomb of a martyr. Another account of her religious deficiency was she had an excellent knowledge of French language but she did not know the ABC of the Latin language which was their religious language. But still, she was chaste and to show her purity, she wore a necklace which read 'love conquers all' in Latin.
Final Words
The two woman characters deal with the complexity of human issues and psyche. The first one is portrayed as a character of the misery of dominance while the second woman wants to look more royal in her manners. Both only fulfil religious formality but perform less or no religious duty.
