The Role Of Corruption In Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

The Catholic Church during the Middle Ages was full of corruption. Many were afraid to challenge this corruption and let it all pass. One person who was not afraid to speak out on the injustice was Geoffrey Chaucer, who is known today as the father of English literature. Chaucer did not approve of these religious hypocrites taking advantage of people in the Middle Ages and was more than willing to use his literature to call them out on it. Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is full of unholy religious figures, such as the Nun, Monk, and Friar, that care more about the outer world than their oath to the Catholic Church. The Nun is one of the immoral characters written about in The Canterbury Tales because out of everything, she cares most about her outer beauty. In his literature, Chaucer writes, “At meat her manners were well taught withal; /No morsel from her lips did she let fall, Nor dipped her fingers in the sauce too deep; /But she could carry a morsel up and keep the smallest drop from falling on her breast” (ll.131-135). In the prologue Chaucer describes the Nun as beautiful with red lips, a small smile, and glass grey eyes. This quotes shows she is very aware of this beauty and wants to make sure she looks good for men. Most nuns …show more content…
The Nun cares more about the way she looks and the way she is perceived than the church, and she uses these qualities about herself to her advantage. The Monk lives a luxurious life, always hunting and spending money to make sure he looks good, rather than staying in his cloister. The Friar is flippant and does not care about the poor or sick in the town, only the rich that are in the taverns and inns. Unfortunately corruption and unvirtuous figures still exist within certain Catholic Churches, but it takes a modern day Chaucer to bring them to