The Three Medieval Estates in The General Prologue

The Three Medieval Estates in The General Prologue

Review the reading on the three medieval estates — clergy, nobles, and peasants. Choose at least two characters from “The General Prologue” and discuss whether they fit the characteristics of their estates or not. How many characters seem to uphold the ideals of their professions? Why would Chaucer include characters that do not fit their estates? What commentary is he making about individuals in specific careers?

The “Great Prologue” is divided into three estates. One of the estates is the church (Doğan 51). The main character in this estate is the Parson, who is concerned with holy work and religious thought. The other character in the church estate is the Pardoner. The Parson upholds the ideals of his profession, whereas the Pardoner does not. Chaucer portrays the Pardoner as a greedy preacher who uses his position to enrich himself and does not feel guilty about his actions. The second estate is the peasantry (Doğan 51). One of the main characters in this estate is the plowman, who is dedicated to his work and does not complain about his social status. He upholds the ideals of his profession because he is comfortable working to benefit others and has no desire for wealth. The third estate is the nobility (Doğan 51). This estate includes knights and landowners. The knight upholds the ideals of his profession by demonstrating concern about fame, chivalry, and battle. He has fought many battles, including the Crusades, which involved fighting for the church. He maintains humility despite gaining a lot of fame from his success on the battlefield. He respects his code of honor despite the strict nature of the rules attached to the code.

Chaucer includes characters that do not fit their estates to bring out the unique character traits of each character in every estate. For instance, in the church estate, including characters who adhere to Christian teachings and those who behave contrary to Christian teachings helps build on the character traits of the Pardoner and plowman. Including characters that do not fit in their estates also creates satire and demonstrates that the narrator is not working with the characters but the elements of social convention and society because each character represents a larger societal concept. Chaucer also implies that individuals in certain professions are exposed to more societal pressures that influence their personality and behavior. For example, individuals in the clergy profession must adhere to Christian teachings, thus shaping the conduct that society expects from them.

When reading “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale,” one should note that her prologue is far more extended than her actual tale. Why does Chaucer devote so much time to the character’s history? How does the Wife’s romantic history connect with the moral of her story? What might Chaucer be commenting on with the Wife’s history?

According to Greenblatt (242), the thesis in “Wife of Bath” is that women should have more power than men in marriage. Chaucer devotes so much time to the Wife in the “Wife of Bath” story to demonstrate how society has shaped her personality, mindset, and morality based on her experiences. He also devotes a lot of time to the Wife to illustrate how women develop opinions and feelings over the challenges they encounter in society, the need for equal rights as men, and the freedom to choose what they want. He also intends to depict how the Wife’s strengths and weaknesses define her societal position. The Wife’s romantic history connects with her tale’s moral that women desire power over their husbands by demonstrating how she has worked on herself by using each of her ex-husband’s weaknesses to learn how they can be controlled. She also focuses on proving that each of her marriages has impacted her personality and transformed her into an independent woman. In every marriage, she develops power and control over her husband and their property after her first marriage. One thing Chaucer might suggest about the Wife’s history is that her past exposed her to challenges that motivated her to seek power and authority so that she could be respected. Chaucer might also be commenting that the Wife’s past included using her sexuality to influence her husbands before she learned that she could use power and money after inheriting property from every ex-husband. Chaucer might additionally be commenting that the Wife was brought up in a society where women were valued and respected based on their beauty and sexuality. She then learns a woman can have control over her husband by showing him that she is not dependent on him. The sense of empowerment enables her to stand up for herself and live her envisioned life.

Works Cited

Doğan, Sadenur. “The Three Estates Model: Represented and Satirised in Chaucer’s General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales.” Journal of History Culture and Art Research, vol. 2, no. 2, 2013, p. 51. https://doi.org/10.7596/taksad.v2i2.229.

Greenblatt, Stephen. “Introduction.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 9th ed., W.W. Norton, 2012, p. 242.

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Choose two prompts below to complete the Module 3 Writing Assignment, referring to the Literary Analysis Assignment Rubric [PDF]. Click for more options on the  Literary Analysis Assignment Rubric [PDF]. – Alternative Formats: Each answer should be approximately 300-400 words (2/3 to 1 page long). Please copy and paste the writing prompt before each of your responses.
Review the reading on the three medieval estates — clergy, nobles, and peasants. Choose at least two characters from “The General Prologue” and discuss whether they fit the characteristics of their estates or not. How many characters seem to uphold the ideals of their professions? Why would Chaucer include characters that do not fit their estates? What commentary is he making about individuals in specific careers?
When reading “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale,” one should note that her prologue is far more extended than her actual tale. Why does Chaucer devote so much time to the character’s history? How does the Wife’s romantic history connect with the moral of her story? What might Chaucer be commenting on with the Wife’s history?
Consider how Julian, in A Book of Showings to the Anchoress Julian of Norwich, presents many traditional images of God and has some surprising ways of experiencing or describing God. In your analysis, identify one to two nontraditional representations of God and explain how each could provide a deeper understanding of God, Christ, the Trinity, or traditional Christian teachings.
When compared to Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe’s works have been harshly criticized (often by early 20th-century male clerical critics). To what extent does Margery’s gender affect her spiritual experiences? Do you believe that her gender impacted the harsh criticism of her texts? What elements of her visions seem particularly tied to traditional expectations and experiences of medieval women?