Reading Notes: Canterbury Tales, Part A

 Canterbury Tales by Chaucer

The Wife of Bath's Tale: The Unknown Bride

- " If in a year and a day you can tell me what it is that women wish for most, then your life shall be spared."

*What an interesting challenge. As a woman, I'm not even sure that I could answer that.*

- "They all had answers, some of them most excellent ones, but the trouble was that no two agreed."

*I feel like this is a pretty accurate assessment.*

- "The thing that women most desire is to rule their husbands. This is their strongest wish."

*This is too generalized of an answer for me, personally.*

- "Then the bride told him that folk might indeed hand down their wealth to their children, but not their goodness; that a man is not noble because he is the son of a duke or an earl, but because he himself does noble deeds."

*Pretty accurate and solid advice, if I do say so.*

- "Would you rather have me old and poor and homely and come of common folk, but a faithful, loving wife — or, perchance, young and rich and handsome and of high birth, but careless of your love and maybe false to you?"

*This question brings up many good plot points to my mind, for sure.*

The Friar's Tale: The Story of the Summoner

- "No, we have none there," the fiend replied, "but we can take one whenever we choose, or we can make any one think that we have the form of a man or an ape, or an angel for that matter. That is northing wonderful. A common juggler can cheat you, and surely I have more skill than he."

*Creepy that they can take any form they want.*

- "Oh, no," declared the summoner, "that will never come to pass. We have sworn to be brothers, and I will keep my word, even though you were Satan himself. You take all you can get, and I will do the same, and if either of us gets more than the other, then let him share."

*I'm surprised at how cool he is handling everything.*

- "Now, brother," said the fiend, "don't be angry, but you and this pan are mine by right, and this very night you shall go to my dwelling in hell with me," and with that the fiend caught him and bore him away, body and soul, to the place where folk like him have heritage prepared. 

*Yikes.*

The Franklin's Tale: The Promise of Dorigen

- "These friends of Dorigen had brought dainty viands with them that they might remain the whole of the day, and after they had dined, they began to sing and to dance on the soft green turf. Even the sight of the dancing made Dorigen grieve because her husband was not among the merry revelers. Nevertheless, she would not be so rude as to break away from her kind friends, so she waited sad and lonely in her heart."

*I think this would be an interesting scene to retell.*

- "Have mercy upon me, or you will be my death, for to think that you will never be mine is more than I can bear."

*What a universal feeling.*

- "Now of these three generous men, which one was the most generous?"

*The summary cites this as an ethical question of the story and I'm very interested in the answer.*

The Pardoner's Tale: The Revelers

- "So the three, all of them half drunk, swore tipsily that they would be as true to one another as born brothers, and then they staggered toward the village that the tavern-keeper had pointed out to them, and as they walked, they swore many dreadful oaths that if they could only catch this Death, they would surely kill him."

*This scene is kind of funny to picture.*

Death (Also My Favorite Story) (Source: Pixy)

Bibliography: Canterbury Tales by Chaucer. Website: Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook.