How does Chaucer reveal his attitude towards the Church through his portrayal of the Prioress, the Monk and the Friar?
How does Chaucer reveal his attitude towards the Church through his portrayal of the Prioress, the Monk and the Friar?
The way that Chaucer portrays the ecclesiasticals proves to be a stark contrast to how he portrays his first pilgrim, the Knight. He speaks highly of the Knight but with an air of mockery and distaste towards his three ecclesiasticals; the Prioress, the Monk and the Friar. The way that Chaucer tells of his religious pilgrims could be seen as a reflection of his attitude towards the Church. It seems that as Chaucer progresses through the ecclesiasticals, his portrayal of them seems far more extreme, and seems to go further from expectation, this is perhaps because he is easing the reader into what are his real attitudes towards the Church.
Fashion and appearance can be seen as a reflection of the characters personalities. The Prioress, in particular, attempts to be fashionable and attractive in all aspects of her life. Although the prioress is wearing what is typically expected of a nun, there are some slight, subtle differences. On line 152 we are told that she has a fair forehead. At the time, a broad forehead was thought of as a mark of beauty. On line 159 Chaucer speaks of a ‘piere of bedes’ worn by the nun. It is common for a nun to wear rosaries but they are usually black, not the colour ‘grene’ as worn by Chaucer’s prioress. On line 200 it says that ‘he was a lord ful fat and in good point’. Chaucer implies that the Monk must be well fed. This idea is reinforced on line 206 ‘A fat swan loved he best of any roost’. To eat such food would have required money and we as readers are led to wonder, where does he receive such money? Some of the fashions adorned and appearances conveyed by the religious characters are not what we would expect. Perhaps Chaucer is suggesting that the church is not as it seems - that it is deceiving.
