Themes and Morals
Analyzing Chaucer
Through the "Nun's Priests Tale," Chaucer illustrates many themes and morals throughout his novel, "The Nun's Priest Tale." One important moral that Chaucer exemplifies through the character Chanticleer is, “not be so careless as to trust in flattery” (Lumiansky). In his tale, Chanticleer encounters a fox, and while at first very frightened, the fox assures him he has no intention of harm. Chanticleer, a very naive rooster, proceeds to trust the fox and listen to his compliments. When the fox tells Chanticleer that his singing voice is “as merry a voice as God has given to any angel in the courts of heaven” (Chaucer 227) he believes the fox's words. Soon after, Chanticleer finds himself in a compromised position when the fox attempts to grab the rooster and run away. Through his tale, Chaucer demonstrates that trust is a virtue one should not give away too soon. Furthermore, he depicts that flattery should never win one's trust either. Had Chanticleer stuck to his gut and stayed away from the fox, he could have avoided the situation entirely. Had he not been too self-absorbed to realize the fox was an enemy, the rooster would have been unharmed.
In addition to the morals that Chaucer implements into his novel, he also brings in an overarching theme of the story, society's view on women. He was one of the few writers of his time to bring in feminist views into his literature, therefore there has been a controversy about his intentions for doing so years later. The dispute is about whether Chaucer writes a misogynistic view on women because he an is anti-feminist, or because he is satirizing femininity in society. Some critics see his dialogue about women in society as “its blaming of women for man’s downfall” (Rigby). "The Nun's Priest Tale" portrays this view as Chaucer writes, “O woman’s counsel is often cold! A woman’s counsel brought us first to woe” (Chaucer 226). He blantently undermines women’s place in society by stating they will bring people to 'woe'. In contrast, Chaucer may be satirizing the beliefs of anti-feminism in society “by transferring traditional gender roles on to a cock and a hen, it reveals the arbitrary and superfluous nature of human sexual conventions and thus undermines the power-structure upon which they rest” (Rigby). Using this idea, Chaucer could be viewed as feminist. There are two conflicting positions as to why Chaucer implements this theme into "The Nun's Priest Tale," and there may not be a clear answer. The Canterbury Tales has an abundance of satire and morals; it is all up to the reader to decide which one they believe Chaucer depicts.
In addition to the morals that Chaucer implements into his novel, he also brings in an overarching theme of the story, society's view on women. He was one of the few writers of his time to bring in feminist views into his literature, therefore there has been a controversy about his intentions for doing so years later. The dispute is about whether Chaucer writes a misogynistic view on women because he an is anti-feminist, or because he is satirizing femininity in society. Some critics see his dialogue about women in society as “its blaming of women for man’s downfall” (Rigby). "The Nun's Priest Tale" portrays this view as Chaucer writes, “O woman’s counsel is often cold! A woman’s counsel brought us first to woe” (Chaucer 226). He blantently undermines women’s place in society by stating they will bring people to 'woe'. In contrast, Chaucer may be satirizing the beliefs of anti-feminism in society “by transferring traditional gender roles on to a cock and a hen, it reveals the arbitrary and superfluous nature of human sexual conventions and thus undermines the power-structure upon which they rest” (Rigby). Using this idea, Chaucer could be viewed as feminist. There are two conflicting positions as to why Chaucer implements this theme into "The Nun's Priest Tale," and there may not be a clear answer. The Canterbury Tales has an abundance of satire and morals; it is all up to the reader to decide which one they believe Chaucer depicts.