What Women Want (And how it Won’t get you Killed after you Raped a Girl)

So you’ve found yourself in this oddly specific situation. Luckily, due to the recent power shift in the ruling family, a new law has been put in place so that you can actually get away from raping someone scot-free (which, all things considering, is actually really horrific.)

You may be surprised at how many rapists are able to escape their punishments, without the need of a queen’s royal pardon. Statistics show that only 40% of rapes actually get reported, and that only 3% of rapists will actually spend a full day or over in prison.

            It is often disturbing how some try and defend rapists in court. In one case, where an 11-year old girl was raped by 20 men and teenagers, the defense attorney likened the victim and the men involved to “the spider and the fly,” implying that she drew them in purposefully. These men were found guilty, but the fact that such arguments for defense are used in these cases is disturbing.

Rape has been becoming more and more topical towards politics. For example, Terry McAuliffe, who ran a negative campaign against opponent Ken Cuccinelli for his stance on abortion based on rape, won the recent gubernatorial election in Virginia.

And now, in this case, a knight is able to evade a death sentence – and you can too! In accordance with the queen’s legislation, the new rule states that you can get a royal pardon if you can say exactly what women want. Previous studies have shown popular answers such as “(We) should be cosseted and flattered.” (Chaucer 283) To help with this dilemma, our staff has gone through a wide variety of women in different fields, in order to give you a selection of possible answers.

“Your order, sir. You’re holding up the line.”

Starbucks Barista

Age 26

“Equality with men in my field of work”

Overly Optimistic Corporate Executive

Age 34

“To be oft widowed and remarried” (Chaucer 283)

Professional Cougar

Age 45

“Freedom [to do whatever I want!]” (Chaucer 283)

Inmate

Age 25

“Rooooaaaarr!”
Wrong Type of Cougar

Age 3 in Cougar Years

“Gorgeous Clothes!” (Chaucer 283)

College Student

Age 19

“You to stop spending time with so many other women and help me raise our child, you selfish ass!”

My Tramp of a Wife

Age 666

“How much you got?”

A Prostitute

Age 37

“I’ll tell you, but first you’ll have to do a random favor for me that I can call in at any time! Mwahahaha!”

A Smelly Old Woman we found in the Woods

Age Unknown

WORKS CITED

"Reporting Rates | RAINN | Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network." Reporting Rates | RAINN | Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. RAINN, 2009. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://www.rainn.org/get-information/statistics/reporting-rates>.

Campbell, Andy. "Gang-Rape Victim Compared By Texas Defense Attorney To 'Spider' Who Lured In Jared Len Cruse, Suspects." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 28 Nov. 2012. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/28/gang-rape-victim-jared-len-cruse_n_2205190.html>.

Chaucer, Geoffrey. "The Wife of Bath's Tale." Canterbury Tales. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Major Authors. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. 8^th ed. New York: Norton, 2006. 226-234.

O'Malley, Nick. "Christie Paves Way for 2016 White House Bid." Http://www.smh.com.au. The Sydney Morning Herald, 06 Nov. 2013. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://www.smh.com.au/world/christie-paves-way-for-2016-white-house-bid-20131106-2x0zp.html>.

Canterbury Tales paper

Grant Regillo

D Block

Mr. O’Brien

November 5, 2013

            Within Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, “The Wife Of Bath’s Tale” provides a platform for Chaucer to acknowledge and address the issue of marriage and the double standards that surround it through the use of satire. The protagonist in “The Wife Of Bath’s Tale” is the wife, a middle age, single woman who has been married five times. Her multiple marriages and attitude towards marriage leave her defending herself on the issue of marriage throughout her tale. The wife’s arguments and stance on marriage express Chaucer’s recognition and discomfort with the social standards that surround women and marriage, specifically the double standards and the perceived difference between a man and a woman who have been married more than once.

            In the context of the tale, the wife’s circumstance of five marriages conjures an immoral sentiment from the rest of the group. While the wife acknowledges the rarity of her circumstance and the lack of support her personal view may garner, she does not feel as though she is in the wrong.  While it may be one of her more simplistic arguments, the wife states, “Wedding’s no sin, so far as I can learn” (Chaucer 260).  In this statement the wife addresses the religious element to marriage and the fact that she is within her right to marry and marry more than once.  The nature of the wife’s marriages is important to note, relevant to her position on marriage and opens her circumstance wider than just the double standard involving the number of marriages deemed socially acceptable. Three of the wife’s five marriages were to men substantially older than herself while only two were to men her own age.  While this issue is not developed or directly satirized by Chaucer, it is important to note that three of the wife’s marriages were not for love but for money.  This context helps to identify some of the backlash that the wife receives while she regales the group with the tale of her marriages. In addition, these circumstances help form the view the wife holds on marriage and the acceptable nature to marry multiple times.

            Chaucer’s satire of the double standards plaguing marriage, specifically the perceived difference between a man and a woman who have been married more than once, spawns from yet another religious parallel.  The wife states, “I know that Abraham was a holy man and Jacob too – I speak as best is can – Yet each of them, we know, had several brides, like many another holy man besides” (Chaucer 260). This passage illustrates the lack of consistency in the social acceptance of multiple marriages for men and women. The wife makes a valid point questioning why it is acceptable for men to have multiple brides by unacceptable for her to have multiple husbands. 

            Chaucer’s personal life and singular marriage to one woman raises the question if Chaucer believes in multiple marriages.  His writing and characters throughout The Canterbury Tales belittle and criticize marriage yet he himself was married and when his wife passed, he did not remarry. Whether or not Chaucer himself agreed or disagreed with the social standards of marriage, he acknowledges them and accepts that there are areas lacking consistency and a double standard plaguing marriage.

            Marriage today is still prevalent and those same double standards and inconsistencies still exist but the wife from Chaucer’s “The Wife Of Bath’s Tale” today would fit in.  The trend surrounding the age a person gets married in the United States is getting older.  The average age a person first marries is “now at 27 for women and 29 for men, both historic highs” (Douthat 1). This trend connects directly to the economic advantages of waiting to get married. This trend relates directly to The Canterbury Tales as the wife is middle aged (in the context of the book) and looking for a suitor, something that is becoming increasingly common in today’s world.

Works Cited

Douthat, Ross. "Late Marriage and Its Consequences." New York Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Nov. 2013. <http://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/22/late-marriage-and-its-consequences/>.

Pollard, A. W. "Geoffrey Chaucer."
 Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Ed., vol. VI.
 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1910. 17-22.

Ask Men Article(Wife of Bath Edition), What Cougars Are Actually Thinking

Waylon Jin

British Literature E Block

Mr. O’Brien

November 6 2013

What Cougars Want and Have But Won’t Tell Anyone?

Recently I have had the privilege of speaking with a pardoner in my town after his pilgrimage to Canterbury. He explained that on his trip to Canterbury he heard a very interesting and bold story from a woman named the Wife of Bath. Wife of Bath highlighted several important points that showed that she was not an ordinary woman.

1.) Wife of Bath married five times, many of which were with older, rich men.

2.) She used her belle chose to get whatever she wanted

3.) Wife of Bath has ability to make her fifth husband apologize to her.

According to The Evolution of Divorce by Bradford Wilcox women with higher independent economic status’ are more likely to divorce their husbands. Wife of Bath says that of course there are ups and downs in a relationship. She becomes increasingly wealthier, but the relationships never satisfy her. One important question that a majority of my friends and I had for Wife of Bath was why did she choose to date younger guys after her previous stable relationships with older men. Her reply was simple, “They are just simply more attractive and adventurous.” Wife of Bath admires, “Behind the coffin! Heavens, what a pair of legs he had! Such feet, so clean and fair”(274)! But I think what Wife of Bath really needs is a vacation away from all troubles or a trip to the bar with her girlfriends.

Chaucer's Views on Infidelity in the Miler's Tale

          In the Canterbury Tales, a colourful collection of stories told in each character’s own vernacular, Chaucer satirizes characters and exaggerates their qualities in order to present his views on society. He creates a world plagued by gluttony, murder, and infidelity through farce and hyperbolic characters. Although he made these comments some seven hundred years ago, many of his observations still hold true. Many of the sins that Chaucer observed can still be observed today. For example, the Miller’s Tale is of an unfaithful young woman and her lover’s battle against her aging husband, emphasizing the infidelity and promiscuity of young people, women especially. To this day there are arguments on both sides of infidelity, as Christopher Ryan points out in his CNN article: “Monogamy Unnatural for Our Sexy Species”. The Miller’s Tale is the best example of Chaucer’s commentary on society because its masculine viewpoint allows us to accurately observe the views on the promiscuity and dishonesty of young women.

          It is only appropriate that Chaucer balance out the Wife of Bath’s positive feminist banter with the Miller’s story of sinners overcoming the long-suffering husband. The Wife of Bath’s tale depicts the “loyal, true, and humble” (Chaucer, 291) characteristics of older women contrasted with the “wild and young” (89) Alison in the Miller’s Tale. The old hag (who, it should be understood, becomes a beautiful maiden in the end), while ugly, has her honesty and integrity to offer her husband. Unlike Alison who is easily swayed by Nicholas’ “meek and girlish look” (89), and agrees to sleep with him with little resistance. There is a correlation drawn here between age and promiscuity without even factoring in the sexist opinions of men in the Middle Ages against women. Nicholas, the student boarder and Alison’s lover, has a talent for “making love in secret” (89) and is a sexually-driven character. In this era all young people in general are being targeted with dishonesty and promiscuity, for the Miller himself says that “a man should pick an equal for his mate” (89). Therefore Chaucer suggests that men marry women their own age instead of younger, prettier ones, because the promiscuous young men will snatch them away.

          There is research today that suggests that promiscuity and emotional dishonesty does indeed decrease with age. The University of Montreal conducted a study in which students’ thoughts of cheating and actual cheating were monitored. They discovered that cheating was more prominent in the students whose ages averaged 23, versus an average age of 27. Although the differences were slight (41% cheaters versus 39% cheaters), this study supports Chaucer’s opinion that younger people, both men and women, are dishonest and disloyal, so perhaps marriages between similarly aged people last longer. Although, according to a 1983 Report on Divorce Statistics, younger couples have a higher divorce rate than older couples, probably because of the promiscuity of youth. At the same time, the differences in age between spouses has decreased from husbands being “2.7 years older than their wives; in 1983 the difference was 2.6 years” ("Advance Report of Final Divorce Statistics, 1983”), suggesting that marriages between similarly-aged people are not always more successful despite the Miller’s claim.

          Age aside, there are views today that women are dishonest and are more likely to cheat on their husbands, similar to those of Chaucer’s time. Although in modern times more emphasis is put on male infidelity, there is an “overall consensus among professionals that female infidelity is on the rise” ("Female Infidelity: It's Different from the Guys"), while there is no serious evidence as to which sex is more likely to commit adultery.

          Both age and gender aside, infidelity is still prominent in our society. Apparently it can be traced back to our animalistic instincts. Although as a species with independent thought we can choose to participate in monogamous relationships with long-term pair bonding, the attraction to polygamous relationships is definitely present. Christopher Ryan argues in his essay about marital dishonesty that the egalitarian concept of “sharing” partners is natural and happens often in the world of apes, and that “Compulsory sharing is simply the best way to distribute risk to everyone's benefit in a foraging context” ("Monogamy Unnatural for Our Sexy Species"), although we differ from the apes in our threats to survival and needs for foraging.

Even after seven hundred years, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales continue to be read and studied by High School and College students all over. Why? Because Chaucer’s classic societal commentary has remained relevant after all this time and we are still captivated by his images of sin and corruption because they are still relatable. Despite both age and gender, people are still dishonest. People still cheat because it’s in our nature as sexually-driven animals and they will continue to do so and Chaucer will remain relevant for more centuries to come.

    

 

 

Works Cited

 

Chaucer, Geoffrey, and Nevill Coghill. The Canterbury Tales. London: Penguin, 2003. Print.

 

Kerner, Ian. "Female Infidelity: It's Different from the Guys." The Chart RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.

 

Ryan, Christopher. "Monogamy Unnatural for Our Sexy Species." CNN. Cable News Network, 29 July 2010. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.

 

University of Montreal. "Infidelity Dissected: New Research On Why People Cheat." ScienceDaily, 13 Sep. 2008. Web. 5 Nov. 2013.

 

"Advance Report of Final Divorce Statistics, 1983." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 02 June 2009. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.

 

Does The Pardoner’s Tale Satirize Today’s Church Controversies?

Does The Pardoner’s Tale Satirize Today’s Controversies?

Chaucer was a religious man living in the Middle Ages, a time when the Catholic Church was extremely corrupt. Clergymen, who were supposed to be esteemed and educated, were actually uninformed and naïve, and nuns and priests who swore celibacy were indeed engaging in sexual relations. Interestingly, the sale of indulgences by pardoners was one of the most controversial actions of the church. As a result, people were angry at what was one of the most powerful and influential institutions of its time, and they began to question the morality of the Catholic Church. In the “Pardoner’s Tale” Chaucer satirizes the dignity of the Catholic Church’s practices through the use of irony, in order to show the corruption of the church during the Middle Ages.

Irony is evident in the character, the Pardoner, himself and the fact that he is the one telling a story about the importance of morals. Pardoners are those who sell indulgences to people to make up for their sins, but indulgences themselves are considered unscrupulous. Therefore, the idea of this man helping someone get rid of their sins while the man himself is actually committing a sin is ironic. Furthermore, the Pardoner in this tale is actually guilty of six of the seven deadly sins. The first deadly sin that the Pardoner exhibits is greed, when he states, “For my exclusive purpose is to win and not at all to castigate their sin,” (Chaucer 243) implying that he pardons solely for the money and not to actually relieve people of their sins. He then discusses how he would never live in poverty by choice, demonstrating the sin of pride when he says, “What! Do you think, as long as I can preach and get their silver for the things I teach, that I will live in poverty, from choice?” (Chaucer 244).  The Pardoner continues to model the sin of sloth with his comment, “And never do an honest job of work, no, nor make baskets, like St. Paul, to gain a livelihood,” (Chaucer 244) which elaborates on the fact that he never does hard work. Carrying on with the descriptions of his sins, he admits to the sin of gluttony by stating, “I mean to have money, wool and cheese and wheat though it were given me by the poorest lad or poorest village widow,” (Chaucer 244). Finally he ends with the sin of lust when he confesses that he “keep[s] a jolly wench in every town!” (Chaucer 244). Interestingly the only one of the seven deadly sins that he fails to mention is envy.

The hypocrisy that is demonstrated by the Pardoner through his sermons against gluttony and greed represent the dishonesty that was apparent in the Catholic Church not only in the Middle Ages but also today. During the Middle Ages the priests and nuns taught the importance of virginity and swore abstinence, but in reality a number of them were involved in sexual relationships. Similarly to the Pardoner’s lies, these actions resulted in a sense of doubt amongst the people. In more recent years, the Catholic Church has lost the faith of its members as well.  One of the major instances that caused skepticism and mistrust in the church over the past decade was the series of child sexual abuses scandals that erupted in the early 2000s. An array of secret files that were discovered this past summer heightened the severity of these cases. According to the Associate Press of the New York Times, regarding one priest involved in the scandals, “The files include one case of a priest who later admitted to having sexual contact with more than 100 boys while serving in several Southern California parishes,”  (NY Times). The more people uncover details about the scandals, the more appalled people become with the Catholic Church.

Both of these ideas are tied together nicely by the irony surrounding the interpretation that the Pardoner may be a homosexual character. In the Prologue the Pardoner is described as having “hair as yellow as wax, hanging down smoothly like a hank of flax. In driblets fell his locks behind is head down to his shoulders where they overspread,” (Chaucer 21).  Shortly after this statement, he is further described as “a gelding, or a mare,” (Chaucer 21). Both of these descriptions imply feminine characteristics of the Pardoner, and suggest that perhaps he is homosexual, an identity that would have been highly frowned upon as a man of the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages. Interestingly, however, recently there has been a situation regarding the Pope addressing a gay priest in an understanding and almost encouraging manner, a major change from the previous pope who considered homosexuality “an intrinsic moral evil,” (Pope in Donadio). Pope Francis stated on his trip back from Brazil, “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” (Pope Francis in Donadio).  This change from a traditional view of the Catholic Church is very intriguing; perhaps it is the Church trying to gain back some members it lost during its corrupted years, as homosexuality has become a more common and accepted idea amongst the population.

In conclusion, Chaucer depicts the Pardoner as in ironic and contradictory character in order to satirize the corruption of the Catholic Church during the Middle Ages. He makes the seven deadly sins a central component in the life of the Pardoner, a man who is supposedly forgiving people of their sins. He also relates the mistrust that the members of the church had in the Middle Ages when the church had the most money and power, and in more recent times when the child sex abuse scandals occurred amongst the priests. Finally Chaucer depicts the Pardoner as a potentially gay member of the church, an idea that never would have been accepted in the Middle Ages but appears to have gained support in today’s society. Although there seem to be hints that the Church is regaining popularity, Chaucer was definitely accurate in criticizing the corruption of the church during his time and ours, as it still continues today.

 

 

 

"California: Religious Orders Release More Files on Sexual Abuse." The New York Times [New York] 31 July 2013: n. pag. Print.

Donadio, Rachel. "On Gay Priests, Pope Francis Asks, ‘Who Am I to Judge?’." The New York Times [New York]: n. pag. The New York Times. Web. 5 Nov. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/30/world/europe/pope-francis-gay-priests.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0>.

Stevens-Arroyo, Anthony M. "Is the church corrupt?" The Washington Post 23 Apr. 2012: n. pag. Print.

Walker, Max, Jr. "Corruption of the Church in the Middle Ages." Ezine Articles. N.p., 12 Feb. 2008. Web. 5 Nov. 2013. <http://ezinearticles.com/?Corruption-of-the-Church-in-the-Middle-Ages&id=969734>.

A Satire or the Harsh Truth of Marriage According to Chaucer

            Marriage life can be portrayed in many polar opposite ways, especially depending on the source given. From television shows to novels, from poems to movies, and from even watching your own parents compared to your friend’s parents, marriage is a complicated and unique relationship. Within a marriage in nearly every case there is a power struggle between the two partners. Chaucer highlights this ongoing issue and the basics of marriage in his “Wife of Bath” tale. He specifically highlights the role of women in a relationship and what they are looking for, with an emphasis of how they try and get it from their partners. Looking at today’s marriage and their divorce rates and the reasons behind the never-ending power struggle compared to “Wife of Bath”, Chaucer has given women and men distinct generalizations. If Chaucer were living today, he would look at the divorce percentage and not be surprised at the high rate because he did not believe marriage could be successful. Chaucer’s satire on marriage and women provides an old-fashioned and harsh view of women and men, which many people would consider accurate today.

      Chaucer portrays women in a very cruel tone, one that many women might find offensive today. He portrays women as manipulative, with the idea that they will stop at nothing to be right. As he writes, “A knowing wife if she is worth her salt Can always prove her husband is at fault” (264). He is trying to prove women’s intense competitiveness when it comes to having the upper hand over their husbands. Chaucer’s words are assessed and proven as one study says, “Wives were more demanding—asking for changes in the relationship or in their partner—and were more likely to get their way than the husbands. This held regardless of who had chosen the issue” (Study: Women Are in Charge at Home). Are all women manipulative and willing to cease at no end to get their way? Not all, no. However Chaucer’s idea of women is still depicted as a standard in many relationships, where women make the decisions and have sole power.

            Chaucer also gives two interesting viewpoints on the men’s role in a relationship. He shows them as weak and spineless puppets whose goals in life are solely to please and listen to their wives. On the contrary he gives them major credit for making the big compromise when getting married, “You have two choices; which one will you try? To have me old and ugly till I die, But still a loyal, true, and humble wife That never displease you all her life, Or would you rather I were young and pretty And chance your arm what happens in a city” (291). Men give up either faith or beauty when choosing a spouse, and then women are to know, follow and live up to this title. But after that decision is made, men are put into their place by their wives and are forever under their control. Modern day studies on power struggles in relationships confirm the idea that men are not in control of their life at home. “’It wasn't just that the women were bringing up issues that weren't being responded to, but that the men were actually going along with what they said,’ Vogel explained. ‘[Women] were communicating more powerful messages, and men were responding to those messages by agreeing or giving in’” (Study: Women Are in Charge at Home). Men have been and still are notorious for succumbing to their wives, something that Chaucer highlights in his tales as the aggression of women takes over the relationship.

            One final point Chaucer gives much attention to is the success rates of marriages, and the lack there of. Today the divorce rate is 45 percent, and has been increasing over time according to a study from this past summer (Study: Divorce Rate In Older Adults Doubles). However it is as if Chaucer predicted this, for in “Wife of Bath” he notes an interesting point of marriage and how each person acts once they have “sealed the deal”. He writes, “’We women hide our faults but let them show Once we are safely married, so you say’” (266). In this quote, he is trying to show that once a couple becomes officially bound, a new side of them comes forth that the other did not know existed, causing couples to become unhappy because this was not the person they first fell in love with, resulting in divorce. Especially in “Wife of Bath”, Chaucer portrayed the woman who had been married five times to not even believe in love, but rather took marriage on as a job offer and death or divorce ended the business deal and she quickly moved on. Chaucer believes that marriage is not meant to last, because true love does not exist.

Chaucer is a cynic when it comes to love, shown through the unhealthy relationships he portrays throughout his tales, particularly “Wife of Bath”. Between the intense power struggles, the lack of confidence in men and the overarching power of women, it is all very complicated and leaves the relationship loveless. His views have not gone unnoticed, for his beliefs are continuously studied and proven today, shown through the high divorce percentage. His satire, though extremely harsh and blunt, is an honest portrayal of the problems of marriages and relationships in society throughout history.