Consequences
- “I’m quite drunk,… therefore, if I slander or mis-say, blame it on ale of Southwark” (Chaucer 30-2).
- "For it is Christ's own word that I will say, and if you tell a man, you're ruined quite; this punishment shall come to you, of right, that if you're traitor you'll go mad- and should!" (396-9).
- "Absalom has kissed her nether eye; and Nicholas is branded on the butt" (744-5).
- "The coulter burned his bottom so, throughout, that for the pain he thought that he should die" (704-5).
- "This hapless Absalom, he heard that yell, and on his lip, for anger, he did bite; and to himself he said, 'I will requite!'" (636-8).
- "'Alas! My soul I give now unto Sathanas, for rather far than own this town,' said he, 'For this despite, it's well revenged I'd be'" (641-4).
How Chaucer's Society Views Consequences
- People do not take responsibility for their actions
- An eye for an eye is fair
- Avenging one's honor is more valuable than maintaining morality
Chaucer's Feelings
- People need to own up to their mistakes
- Society needs to dole out proportional consequences
- Oftentimes, an innocent person pays the price for a crime they did not commit
Marraige
- "Whom lie loved better than he loved his life;... Jealous he was and held her close in cage" (Chaucer 114-6).
- "A husband must not be inquisitive of God, nor of his wife, while she's alive" (55-6).
- "Thus fluttered was the carpenter's good wife, for all his watching and his jealousy" (742-3).
- "It is a sin, and further, great folly to asperse any man, or him defame, and, too, to bring upon a man's wife shame" (38-40).
- "A man should wed according to estate, for youth and age are often in debate" (121-2).
- "'My husband is so full of jealousy, unless you will await me secretly, I know I'm just as good as dead" (186-8).
How Chaucer's Society Viewed Women
- Woman is man's property
- The only thing of value is their appearance
- No better than an animal
Chaucer's Feelings
- Women are actually very smart
- Women take advantage of their positions
- Women mercilessly manipulate men
Women
How Chaucer's Society Viewed Marriage
- The husband and wife have rules they must follow
- The husband has control over everything
- The wife is merely property for the husband
- People get married for looks and family, not for love
- As a female, all you have to do to get married is look pretty and come from a successful family
- Wives have no freedom-totally at mercy of husbands
Chaucer's Feelings
- The institution of marriage is corrupt
- Marriage is superficial
- Jealousy happens because people don't get married for love
- "Of coal-black silk... her collar, black silk worked with thread,... and certainly she had a lickerish eye" (Chaucer 132-6).
- "If she had been a mouse and he a cat, he would have mauled her some" (238-9).
- "For some are won by means of money spent, and some by tricks, and some by long descent" (273-4).
- "She was a primrose, and a tender chicken for any lord to lay upon his bed, or yet for any good yeoman to wed" (160-2).
- "She was far more pleasant thing to see than is the newly budded young pear-tree" (139-40).
- "And thus she made of Absalom her ape, and all his earnestness she made a jape" (281-2).
Chaucer's Overall Opinions of His Society
- Society in general is corrupt
- People value and emphasize superficial things when they should focus on qualities, characteristics, and morality
- People tend to ignore the corruption in their lives because it would be too much effort to try to change it
- People ignore their responsibilities and blame others for any problems in their lives
Religion
- "There was of that church a parish clerk whose name was... Absalom... he wore a fine surplice" (Chaucer 204-15).
- " For it is Christ's own word that I will say... I never will tell it to child or wife" (396- 404).
- "But he was ready with his iron hot and Nicholas right in the arse he got" (701-2).
- "Then fell it thus, that to the parish kirk, the Lord Christ Jesus' own works for to work, this good wife went, upon a holy day" (199-201).
- "This Absalom... went with a censer on the holy day, censing the wives like an enthusiast; and on them many a loving look he cast" (231-4).
- "That now, come Monday next, at nine of night, shall fall a rain so wildly mad as would have been, by half, greater than Noah's flood" (408-10).
- "This man is fallen, with his astronomy;... men should not meddle in God's privity" (343-6).
- "This hapless carpenter began to quake; he thought now... that he could see Old Noah's flood come wallowing like the sea" (506-8).
Chaucer's Feelings
How Chaucer's Society Views Religion
- Religious officials are hypocritical, fake, and superficial
- Emotions matter more that religious morality
- Double standards corrupt religion
- Religion is commonly used to manipulate people
- Appearances are important
- Religious officials are respectable and dependable
- Religious ideas are always right
Class
Chaucer & Society
- "A wealthy lout...and of his craft he was a carpenter. A poor scholar was lodging with him there" (Chaucer 80-2).
- "And by the Arms and Blood and Bones he swore, 'I have a noble story in my store, with which I will requite the good knight's tale'" (17-9).
- "Now there was of that church a parish clerk... curled was his hair, shining like gold" (205-6).
- "He stood in red hose fitting famously. And he was clothed full well and properly" (211-2).
- "A clerk has lazily employed his while if he cannot a carpenter beguile" (191-2).
- "He had a chamber in that hostelry, and lived alone there, without company" (95-6).
How Chaucer's Society Viewed Class
- The lower classes are made up of smarter people
- Religious officials have high positions
- Appearance and wealth are valued more than education and morality
Chaucer's Feelings
- Religion is corrupt
- A person's position in society is not a true reflection of their worth (ignorant/corrupt people have power and wealth)
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