The Canterbury Tales
Essay Exam Answer by Alexander Thompson
The conflict between the “reach for the divine” and “the lure of earthly things” is
an idea that Chaucer displays in several characters in The Canterbury Tales, but
particularly the members of the church. This is shown in the General Prologue with his
descriptions of the Prioress, the Monk, and the Friar. These are figures who would have
been well respected for their standing in the church and the community, and yet all three
are described as not completely dedicated to the church because of their inability to give
up the everyday pleasures in life.
Not even two full lines into the Prioress’s description in the General Prologue we
see a hint that this nun may have other concerns in her life besides her devotion to God.
The line describing her smile as “ful simple and coy” (C. 7) would not be what we would
expect for a nun, especially an older nun who should be a role model for the younger
ones. It suggests that she may be flirtatious and enjoys or craves attention. “In curteisie
was set ful muchel hir lest” (C. 7), which describes the elegance of her eating, again is
not how we would expect her to be described. Instead we would expect a nun to be
humble in the way she looked at people and the way she ate. To go one step further, the
tale, which deals with themes of anti-Semitism, would not be something we would expect
from a nun. Chaucer is not necessarily criticizing nuns or even this nun in particular but
is reminding us that members of the church are still people who are not perfect. Even
though they are held to a higher standard than the rest of us, they still share many of the
habits that are common to everyone.
The very next description in the General Prologue is that of the Monk, and he
shares in this conflict as well. We think of monks as being close spiritually to God,
people who should be held to a higher standard than the rest of the common people.
However, like the Prioress he has much in common with the common people. Again the
opening lines of his description tell us something about him that we would not
necessarily associate with a monk. The line “An outridere, that lovede venerie” (C. 8)
describes him as a hunter, someone who enjoys the outdoors and sport. Hunting seems to
go against the Christian belief of loving all God's creatures, and we would expect a monk
to spend nearly all of his time studying or teaching scriptures, but again we are shown a
member of the church who does not give up the everyday things that regular people
enjoy. Also he is described as “ful fat” (C. 8) indicating that he is not humble and is not
really concerned with how a clergy member should present himself, but rather lives his
life to please himself rather than others. Ironically his tale is almost an instruction manual
in how a person should behave in the eyes of God. Chaucer is either making fun of a
clergy member to point to hypocrisy in the church or he is simply showing that these
people are no different from us.
The Friar has much in common with the Monk in that he has pledged to live a
humble life and yet he lives life to the fullest, enjoying every minute. He is described as
being “wantowne and merry” (C. 8), telling us from the opening lines that he is also far
from humble and more of an everyday person who enjoys life. This character is said to
earn a profit from hearing penances, which suggests again that Chaucer is pointing out
hypocrisy in the church by giving him characteristics of the common man such as a love
of fun and having a good time.
All of these members of the church are on a higher pedestal than the rest of us, but they
never give up the everyday pleasures of life such as good food, social gatherings, and
sport. They are clearly conflicted in the “reach for the divine” and “the lure of earthly
things.”