FREE ESSAY ON CHAUCER AND FEMINISM

CHAUCER AND FEMINISM

The most potent form of criticism that a writer can use is satire. Satire is a form of
irony wherein the speaker uses false praise in order to condemn an idea or event. Chaucer
was a pioneer in the realms of English and criticism. He popularized the use of the
satiric mask. A satiric mask is when the writer has the speaker like or support something
for trivial and unjustifiable reasons. By having the speaker supporting things for all
the wrong reasons the writer makes the situation absurd and it is this absurdity that is
the satiric source. For example, the speaker Chaucer tends to like morally corrupt
individuals for odd reasons. He admires the monk because he is wealthy, gregarious, and
popular among woman. Needless to say these are not the characteristics of a good monk,
but by having the speaker Chaucer sing praise about him the writer Chaucer can
specifically criticize these same flaws. This makes it important to distinguish between
the two Chaucers for if the reader gets the two switched they will be getting the exact
opposite message that is intended. As a result it becomes essential for the reader to
take what the speaker Chaucer says with a grain of salt. 
The speaker Chaucer meets several women that he admires for odd reasons. He admires the
nun for her exquisite etiquette. Her states that her table manners are impeccable and her
dress is beautiful. Since we know that Chaucer is out to criticize, we realize that this
is not the lesson he wants us to learn. These characteristics are what one would expect
from a lady of an established house not a nun. The nun is pretending to be something that
she is not.
Chaucer contrasts this falseness with the near brutal honesty of the wife of bath. The
wife of Bath is a particularly amorous woman who has been married five times. She also
speaks openly about her views on relationships and sex. This at first shocks the reader
but it also when considered indicates an individual that is what she appears to be.
Chaucer makes this contrast to show that he finds truth in the wife of baths words.
Therefore one should take the wife of baths advice on relationships to be advice that
Chaucer wishes to circulate. 
Perhaps the most striking quality of the wife of bath is that she is very masculine in
manner and speech. She speaks very openly of relationships and sex, is very well traveled
and is a prominent individual. These qualities allow Chaucer to her up as a foil
character to the Miller, who is a sexist male character. The wife is proud of her
marriages and states that women should not be barred the privilege of successive
marriages because men who have had multiple marriage were looked upon favorably. She
alludes to Knig Solomon and says: "Which yifte of God hadde he for alle his wives!" She
makes it clear that she believes that there is nothing wrong with multiple marriages and
that she doesn't believe in a double standard. She also asks: "To what conclusioun/ Were
members maad of generacioun/ and of so parfit wis a wrighte ywrought?" Here she is
justifying that if God didn't want people to have sex then why did he make bodies that
are so perfectly suited to the task. The wife of bath puts forth that women, since they
can't get what they want in other ways, that they should use sex as a way to ensure that
marriage consists of two people of equal importance. Her beliefs ensure that the wives of
controlling men have a safeguard against being totally powerless. She describes this
arrangement by saying that her husband "shal be bothe my dettour and my thrall". She is
describing how her husbands need her for gratification as she needs them as well in a
sexually dependant way.