What Is The Inequality In The Wife Of Bath's Tale

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Society in Medieval times proved toxic and ruined many innocent lives. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer records tales from over 20 pilgrims. Throughout the poem he reviews the corruption of the social structure and pokes fun at it. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer critiques Medieval social structure as it inhibits ambitious men, separates people meriting different classes, and enforces unrealistic stereotypes. The social structure poisoned individuals and forced them into formula lifestyles.
Chaucer’s first critique of the Medieval structure confronted how it inhibited ambitious men to improve their status. Men wanted more money and would steal, “He was a master-hand at stealing grain” (578). The Miller overpriced his grain, conning money off of poorer Englishmen. People paid more than the grain’s worth since they trusted his lies. The Miller’s greed revealed he cared more about money than people and sought ways to move up the social …show more content…
The Wife of Bath believed being poor was an advantage, “‘The poor dance and sing in relief/of having nothing that will tempt a thief’” (1848-1849). In The Wife of Bath’s Tale, the knight bashes poor people and believed poverty was bad. However, the old woman admonishes him and says there’s nothing wrong with poverty. In fact, she made it seem like an advantage. The argument fought the stereotype that those of the lower class had terrible lives. There were also ideal stereotypes, “When we heard the tale the Knight had told...it was indeed a noble story…” (1, 3). The Knight told the first tale, and everyone thought he had a noble story. Everyone assumed the Knight was the epitome of chivalry, yet plenty of knights did not uphold his standards. The Knight’s stereotype highlights that those in the upper estates were trusted and almost worshipped, even if individuals did not uphold chivalry. Stereotypes ingrained themselves in Medieval society and were never
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