Morality In Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

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Most people today judge others on their external appearance instead of their internal morality. In Geoffrey Chaucerʻs The Canterbury Tales, pilgrims of different social classes tell tales while embarking on a pilgrimage. The Wife of Bath and the Pardoner tell tales which gives the readers an insight into their inner morality. The Wife of Bath’s ugly, poor and socially unfit exterior appearance, and the Pardoner’s pretty, rich, and socially acceptable exterior appearance, fails to reflect their internal morality.
Both the Wife of Bath and the Pardoner use language to reveal their inner morality. In the Wife of Bath’s tale, a knight feels unsatisfied marrying an ugly, old woman. The woman sees his saddened face and swears to him she will transform …show more content…
In the Wife of Bathʻs long prologue, she talks about her many husbands. She says, “I have had five husbands at the church door/ if I may have been legally married so often” (291). Marrying five times, diverts from the social normality; however, the Wife of Bath claims she has never heard of an unacceptable polyandry, illustrating her ignorance. The Wife of Bath illustrates her oblivion to polyandry, conflicting social norms. The Pardoner on the other hand conforms with society, but only to sell his relics. He tells the pilgrims, “But whoever finds himself free from such faults/ will come up and make an offering in God's name,/ and I absolve him by the authority/ which was granted to me by this bull” (511). Conforming with society, the Pardoner “absolves” the sin from other people. Lying, earning money, depriving people of money, faster “than the parson got in two months” (53), the Pardoner steals money without the public even …show more content…
In the general prologue, Chaucer describes a little description for each pilgrim, including the Wife of Bath. He says, “Her face was bold and handsome and ruddy” (39). These “bold”, “handsome”, and “ruddy” features describes a more masculine form. Usually women would prefer to look feminine but instead, the Wife of Bath has a face that looks like a man. Although her face may not be as appealing as others, her inner morality depicts magnificent. Although the Wife of Bath may have a more unappealing appearance, the Pardoner has a more appealing face. Chaucer describes him, “The Pardoner had hair as yellow as wax,/ but it hung as smoothly as a hank of flax;/ wisp by wisp his locks hung down,.../ (51). He describes his hair as this perfect thing with so much detail such as “yellow as wax” or “a hank of flax.” Although he may look like a handsome man on the outside, his inner morality contrasts with his pretty exterior appearance. This contrast also shows how one can not identify others from their exterior appearance.
In Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, the Wife of Bath and the Pardoner tell tales which gives the readers an insight into their social class and their inner morality. Although in today’s society people judge others by how they look, one can not distinguish the different types of people until they start speaking. The Wife of Bath uses language to reveal her fare, pretty morality
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