Chaucer's Treatment of Women
Literature reflects the
tendencies of the age in which it is produced and there is always a supreme
literary artist who becomes the mouthpiece of his age and gives expression to the
hopes and aspirations, its fades, and fetishes, its tears and doubts, its
prosperity and enterprise in his work. Chaucer, too, represents his age and
holds a mirror up to the life of his time. His poetry represents the fourteenth
century and not only one limited aspect of it. For example, the unknown author
of “Pearls” shows the mysticism of a refined mind.
Wycliff points out the surging
wave of religious reformation, Gower shows the fear produced in the wealthier
class by the Peasant Rising and Langland and presents corruption in the church and
the religious order. Each of these authors throws light on only one aspect of
life in the fourteenth century. It is Chaucer’s greatness that he directs his comprehensive
gaze not on one aspect of his time, but on all its wide and variegated life. He
is a wide and capacious soul and takes a fuller view of his times more than
anyone else could have taken in those days. Chaucer takes into consideration
the chivalry, trade, medical profession, clergymen and women of the fourteenth
century.
Chaucer’s attitude towards women is impartial, unprejudiced, realistic and comprehensive. According to Chaucer, a woman is neither a goddess nor necessarily an evil. She is just a companion of man and as there are gods and devils among men, so there are goddesses and witches among women. Chaucer’s realistic approach towards life never allows him to go to extremes. For instance, Franklin’s opinion about women reflects the whole story. According to his tale, the real question is not of mastery, but of mutual adjustment and cooperation.
In Chaucer’s age, there were two
views with regard to women. According to the opinion of the church, a woman person of Eve was the cause of the fall of Adam. It was she who had brought sin
and death into the world. On the other hand, quite contrary to this view the
poets held positive opinions about them. According to poets, she was a goddess
who descended from Heaven with pomp and majesty and filled the world with a
unique glow. Women in Chaucer’s England did not enjoy an enviable social
position. Women of the lower class of society, in particular, were doomed to a life
of unrelieved drudgery. They were treated as slaves or serfs. Women belonging
to the upper classes, however, led a comparatively better social life and they
received some education and wore fine clothes and ornaments.
In “The Prologue to the
Canterbury Tales”, Chaucer tells that there are two kinds of women in the world
of all ages. He tells this by depicting two women, The Prioress and The Wife of
Bath. The Prioress is the embodiment of sweetness, beauty, grace and good manners
whereas The Wife of Bath is a combination of ugly features and shrewish
qualities. Both of them are present in all ages. Sometimes, The Prioress predominates and sometimes The Wife of Bath.
In Chaucer’s time, a woman was
regarded as inferior to a man. A woman who attempted governance was very often
beaten by her husband. A woman’s welfare lies in accepting the mastery of her
husband. We are told that the fifth husband of The Wife of Bath tried to assert his
male superiority over her and once struck her about her ear so violently that she
became deaf. Thus, women like The Wife of Bath always manage to escape from life, a humdrum love, gossip, finery, and company of men and never like to stay at
home with their husbands. Chaucer explains the nature of such women in the
following lines of the Wife’s portrait.
In felawshipe wel koude she
laughe and carpe;
Of remedies of love she knew per
chaunce,
For she koude of that art the
oIde daunce.
The Prioress represents the conventional
woman with all those vanities dear to the feminine heart. In “The Prologue to the
Canterbury Tales”, her description includes her physical appearance, table
manners, affected speech and tender sentimentality. Her name is “Madame
Eglentyne”. One wonders what this wildflower has to do in the convent. She wears
fine clothes and on her brooch is inscribed the motto “Amor Vincit Omnia” (Love
conquers all).
The Wife of Bath expounded
her views on women, marriage and love at a great length in the Prologue. She
tells the company that she has no faith in virginity. God has given them bodies
to use. Let saints be continents. God never forbade marriage, nor did He command
virginity. The Clerk replies to the Wife’s heresies by telling the story of Griselda.
She was a retort to the Wife’s heretical doctrine.
Chaucer’s “Tale of Melibeus”
poses the problem of mastery in domestic life and suggests that the husband should
accept the mastery of his wife. The Nun’s Priest’s tale puts the opposite view.
Similarly, different pilgrims express their views in their tales. However, Franklin’s tale gives a balanced view. According to this tale, the real
question is not of mastery but mutual adjustment and cooperation. The real
bliss of wedded life can be enjoyed through mutual cooperation, forbearance
and patience; this is the view of Chaucer himself.
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