Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

There are a bevy of similarities that exist between the tales of the wife of bath and the prioress in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. The similarities largely pertain to the circumstances in which these individuals tell their tales. They are both women, and each are telling a tale to other pilgrims in which there presumably is both entertainment as well as ecclesiastical value in the subjects. However, a close analysis of these two particular stories reveals that despite the similarities between them, the differences between them are more pronounced. Although both tales emphasize various elements of satire, characterization, and tone, it is clear that the principle distinction between them is that the wife of bath's tale is ultimately secular while the tale of the prioress is ecclesiastical in nature.

An analysis of the characterization in both of these stories readily proves this thesis. One point of similarity in the characterization is that in both tales, males are the protagonists. However, the protagonist in the tale of the wife of bath is compelled by worldly pursuits, while the protagonist in the prioress's tale is compelled by godly and religious pursuits. The descriptions of these characters reinforce their differences. In the former, the protagonist is a lascivious knight who is a convicted rapist. In the latter, the protagonist is a young boy who is so piously devoted to Christianity that he becomes a martyr. Whereas the knight is one who "bereft of her maidenhood" of the maid he raped (Chaucer), the young child is a study in opposition, who sojourns through a Jewish slum while religiously singing songs to the Virgin Mary. The fact that these characters are central to the stories told underscores the difference between them and their themes. Ultimately, the wife of bath's tale is about a man obsessed with the worldly, while the prioress's tale is about a young boy obsessed with the spiritual and God.

The Canterbury Tales largely functions as a satire, and in many ways the characters in the story help to demonstrate humor in human folly. The fact that both the Wife of Bath's Tale and the prioress's tale function as satires is another eminent similarity between them. However, it is clear that the former satirizes worldly concerns, whereas the latter satirizes spiritual concerns. The wife of Bath does not merely tell a licentious tale involving rape, near death, and beautiful women as a bounty (all of which are elements that satirize the regard for women). But she also personifies the satire herself since she "have had husbands five at the church door" (Chaucer). This woman is obviously a professional wife. However, the prioress also satirizes nuns and church people. The fact that a hymn to the Virgin Mary features prominently in her tale is part of a satire since, after all, the prioress is a nun who belongs to a convent that requires patronage of the Virgin Mary to exist. Thus, her subtle encouragement of the Virgin Mary through the repeated use of a song to her is a way of furthering her own spiritual aims. The difference in these satires is that the wife's is about worldly pursuits, while the prioress's is about spiritual ones.

Lastly, the tone of voice that both narrators' use is a point of comparison that reveals the distinction in these tales. The tone that the wife of bath uses is somewhat bawdy, perverse, and on a number of occasions quite humorous. This aspect of this tale fits with the overall motif that this is a worldly woman telling a story that celebrates granting women control of their husbands. The tone invoked by the prioress, on the other hand, is as praiseworthy and as lofty as the spiritual concerns for God which this tale evokes. Her story beings with her stating "..our lord…how marvelous is thy name spread in this large world, for not only is thy precious laud performed by men of dignity" (Chaucer). This type of tone and diction would never be found in the tale told by the wife of Bath. Thus, by analyzing the diction of these two tales the prudent reader discerns how it reinforces the fact that the wife's tale is about worldly things, and the prioress's tale is about spiritual things.