Modern Approaches to the Canterbury Tales
According to Joan Cadden, female body was described to be more inferior in the middle ages. For instance, Cadden notes that the female’s make up are: “skulls are divided, like children’s […] women are close to children – incomplete humans.”[1] Male authors during the Middle Ages characterized females has being the inferior in all aspects, which become apparent in some of Chaucer’s tales that are told by male pilgrims. Is Chaucer undermining the female image, in the eyes of men through the male narrative voices? In characterizing females as inferior, it relates to the fact that the Prioress characterizes herself as a child when telling the tale. Significantly, this undermines her ability to be able to tell stories and therefore the credibility of her tale is questioned, in the same way children are not taken seriously. Furthermore, Cadden also notes that because women’s “economic rights and legal standing were limited, the implicit comparison of women to children reinforced notions of their incapacity and dependency”[2]. That is to say, women were made to devote themselves strongly to Christianity and God because he is their patriarch and a figure they look up to. Likewise, it implies that the Prioress relies on her faith towards Virgin Mary because she is an important female figure next to Jesus and God. On the other hand, Chaucer is also making fun of the Prioress because she is underestimating herself and questioning her own devotion.
[3]
[1] Cadden, The Meanings of Sex Difference in the Middle Ages, 180-181
[2] Ibid., 181
[3] Youtube: Gender Roles in Medieval Times by user rramos
