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Mark Donald
October 4th, 2011
ENG 100:11 Wilputte
Madame Eglantine and the Wyf of Bath in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales
When establishing characters in a story, the author has a specific intent to create an
image that sends a message to the reader. In the case of Madame Eglantine the Prioress and
the Wyf of Bath in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer develops images of these
characters in the General Prologue that serve to illustrate his views on the type of women these
characters represent. Through the use of the narrator, who bears Chaucer’s name, but not his
specific thoughts, Chaucer the Poet satirizes the stereotypes of these women, and offers a
comparison of these two influential types of medieval women. Both are established as sexually
charged beings, which is a commentary on the place of women in society during these times,
but the different values that they are shown to hold differentiate these female characters . With
these values established, Chaucer the Poet is able to offer his opinion on the state of affairs of
his day and age, especially in regards to abuse of power in the church, and the status of
women.
It is important to note that Chaucer the Pilgrim, the narrator, is very different from
Chaucer the Poet. The Poet uses the Pilgrim as a blank slate with which to create his other
characters. The Pilgrim’s tendency to offer many details about people and accept everything
about them, without forming a concrete opinion or commentary on them, allows the reader to
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reflect on the character’s values on their own. In the case of Madame Eglantine the Prioress,
Chaucer the Pilgrim is used by the Poet to demonstrate what she values. In his initial
description of the Prioress, the Pilgrim focuses strongly on her physical appearance, personal
cleanliness, and etiquette, so much so that his description feels like it stems from his own
physical desire for her. The intent of the Poet, however, was to present an image of a nun who
expressed vanity and aloofness, contrary to the humble, self-respecting image of what was
expected of a nun, especially in those days. The Pilgrim’s willingness to accept everything in
front of him also allows the Poet to make a statement on the state of affairs in the church . In
line 143, Madame Eglantine is described as “…so charitable and so pitous”, but the following
lines detail her charity, and it is merely for small animals such as hounds and mice.
Furthermore, lines 157-173 enlighten us as to her possessions. Her cloak is called “elegant” and
she has a gold brooch upon her chest. To the average layperson, hearing or reading this story
that would be a serious source of anger. When the people above an average medieval person
had power, and they donate a portion of their money to them, as was expected then, and they
see those in power using your money to embellish themselves, one would hardly be pleased. By
creating that feeling in his readers, the Poet is satirizing the Church. Although Chaucer the
Pilgrim elaborates on the holiness of Madame Eglantine the Prioress, Chaucer the Poet had a
very different meaning that he instilled in his readers, as he pointed out what he perceives is a
flaw in the social system.
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The Wyf of Bath is the other lady that is introduced to us early in the General Prologue .
This character is very bold, challenging many common stereotypes of the time on the role of
the woman in medieval life. The Pilgrim offers a very rich description of her and her clothing,
saying “Boold was hir face and fair and reed of hewe. She was a worthy woman al hir lyve” (line
458) and telling the reader of her clothes that he “dorste swere they weyeden ten pound that
on a Sonday were on hir heed. Hir hosen weren of fyn scarlet reed” (line 454-456). He goes on
to talk about her figure, which sounds quite voluptuous. The reader also is told about her past,
where one learns of her five previous husbands, business adventures, and pilgrimages all over
the world. This description of her builds an image of a lady who is very confident, secure in her
sexuality, and self supporting. This is a severe contrast to the general image one has when
thinking of a medieval woman, either a helpless damsel, faithful nun, or a subservient, meek
wife who obeys her husband. The portrayal created by the Poet is a sort of early feminism. By
creating this strong woman character, able to travel freely, discuss important matters such as
sexuality openly, and conduct her own successful business on the basis of her skills, the Poet
rejects the status quo of inferiority faced by women of the time . This editorial on the subject
would be extremely shocking to readers of the time, who had been told by the church for
centuries that women were not equal to men, and could not do the things that the Wyf of Bath
achieves.
Through his creation and development of these medieval women, Chaucer the Poet
sends a strong message to those reading his story about his views on the world he lived in . His
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Pilgrim’s mocking acceptance of the false piety of Madame Eglantine the Prioress shows the
Poet’s condemnation of excess, wealth, and abuse of power by the Church, and specifically,
those who have taken vows to live in chastity and poverty. Chaucer also uses his Pilgrim to offer
us an insight into his views on the role of women in the Poet’s society. By expanding on how
successful the Wyf of Bath is, and telling the reader of how she is a good, useful companion on
the road by helping others with relationship problems and laughing with the others in
fellowship, the Poet offers a view of how a woman should be able to succeed. While he may
not have called these social injustices out in front of his readers directly, Chaucer uses his
Pilgrim to develop a commentary on the issues for the readers to interpret on their own, and
make their own judgments on the work of the church, and the place and role of women.
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Works Cited
Chaucer, Geoffrey. “The General Prologue.” The Canterbury Tales. The Broadview Anthology of
British Literature. Concise Edition, J. Black et al. Volume A. Peterborough, 2008. Print.