, Research Paper

The Wife of Bath and the Prioress

Canterbury Narratives are the narratives told by a group of 30 pilgrims on their journey to see the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury.

Written by Geoffrey Chaucer during the Middle Ages, these narratives are told in a blithe tone and each contain a moral. The talkers of these narratives are intriguing and diverse in their visual aspects, idiosyncrasies, societal positions, and life experiences. They each represent a different facet of mediaeval life. None two are more diverse in their features than the hearty Wife of Bath and the delicacy Prioress.

The visual aspects of the Prioress and the Wife of Bath are every bit different as dark and twenty-four hours. The Prioress s characteristics are described as being delicate and delicate, therefore suiting her personality. However, she is non a wisp of a adult female. Equally good as being delicacy, Chaucer describes her as being instead tall. Her olfactory organ was elegant, her eyes glass grey ; her brow, surely, was carnival of spread, about a span across the foreheads I own ; she was so by no agencies undergrown. ( 156-160 ) She besides donned a coral bangle on her arm, upon which hung a broach with the Latin phrase for Lover conquers all. The Wife s visual aspects, on the other manus, are rather the antonym. Despite her hearing loss, she was a jovially chubby adult female with big hips and gapped tooth smiling. Her hose were of the finest vermilion ruddy and gartered tight ; her places were soft and new, Bold was her face, handsome, and ruddy in chromaticity. ( 466-468 ) The headgears of both the adult females are said to be good wimpled up ( 480 ) and gathered in a becoming manner. ( 155 )

The idiosyncrasy and the personalities of the two adult females are contrasting every bit good. The married woman was loud, vocal and used to acquiring things her manner. In all the parish, non a doll daring splash towards the communion table stairss in forepart of her, and if so they did, so wrath was she as to be rather put out of charity. ( 459-462 ) She besides love

vitamin D to laugh and chitchat with anyone. The Prioress, nevertheless, was pleasant and friendly in her ways, and striving to forge a courtly sort of grace, a stately bearing to her topographic point. ( 142-144 ) When she ate, she was dainty in everything she did. She ne’er dipped her fingers excessively deep into the bowl, and ever prissily wiped her oral cavity, ne’er sloping anything onto her apparels. The Prioress besides had a really particular love for animate beings. She used to cry if she but saw a mouse caught in a trap if it were dead or hemorrhage. And she had small Canis familiariss she would be feeding with roasted flesh, or milk, or all right white staff of life. ( 148-151 ) The Prioress was excessively dainty and proper to be anything but rather and reserved.

For the most portion of her life, the Prioress lived in a nunnery. She attended school at Stratford-atte-Bowe, and their erudite Gallic. And she spoke daintily in French highly, After the school of Stratfor-atte-Bowe, French in the Paris manner she did non cognize. ( 128-130 ) For the Wife of Bath s life experiences, Chaucer goes into greater item. The Wife was an first-class fabric shaper, better than the celebrated merchandisers of Ypres and Ghent. She had besides been married five times. She d had five hubbies at the church door, apart from other company in young person. ( 470-471 ) Equally good as her accomplishment at pulling work forces, she knew the redresss for love s bad lucks, an art in which she knew all the dances. ( 485-486 ) The two adult females had had diverse life experiences. The nun led a really dainty and proper life, whereas the Wife had ever been outspoken and done precisely what she pleased.

The Wife of Bath and the Prioress are more different than they are likewise. Their visual aspects, idiosyncrasies, and life experiences exist on opposite terminals of the spectrum. They each serve as a good representation for their category of adult females during the Middle Ages. The dainty Prioress was the image of piousness and self-righteousness, whereas the hearty Wife of Bath was the kernel of wealthy, independent adult female