Chaucer's Representation Of Women In The Canterbury Tales

In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer describing the characters in the opposite way they are in normal society. The knight, King, and women are all in roles that are opposite to what these characters are known for. Chaucer shows his support of feminist ideas by the knight taking advantage of the maiden, the king giving the right to punish the knight to the queen, and letting the old hag about her and the knights future. The main character in “The Wife of Bath” was a knight who took advantage of a madan. The knight thought he could take advantage of the madan because she was weaker than him and she was a lower class than him. The madan tried to stop the knight but “be very force he took her maidenhead(23).” The knight took advantage of the women and showed that he does not respect women. This is where the tale starts and how Chaucer shows that men should respect women. …show more content…
The King decided to give the Queen the right to punish the Knight in any way she wanted to. The knight was “as good as dead but that the queen, and other ladies too, implored the king to exercise his grace ceaselessly, he gave the queen the case and granted her his life, and she could choose whether to show him mercy or refuse(28-34).” The queen chooses to let the knight ask the women in the village what women want from men. The knight found the old hag and asked her what women want from men and she stated that women want sovereignty over