The Wife of Bath is a tough woman with a mind of her own and she is not afraid to speak it. "She is with us, somewhat deaf, which was a pity"(456). She is not very attractive "she had gap-teeth, set widely, truth to say"(478). She intimidates men and woman alike due to the strength she possesses. "Her kerchiefs were of finely woven ground"(464).However, Chaucer, instead of portraying her low-social class as shameful, Chaucer showed that she is actually prudent and eloquent. Chaucer sympathizes with her because he himself was considered low-class. The wife of Bath had many men in love with her "she'd had five husbands, all at the church door"(470) and countless affairs, thus breaking innocent men hearts. Her husbands fell into two categories. The first category of husbands was: rich,

The Nun which as much known as "Madam Eglantyne". She is a very religious lady who prayed daily. She "spoke daintily in French" (128).She is a well mannered , religious, graceful, and well-kept. She is also "the nun ranking next below the head nun in an abbey". This is a women of very high morale in the days of The Middle Ages. She received much respect for how she carried herself. Chaucer says that " at meat her manners were well taught withal; no morsel from her lips did she let fall, nor dipped her fingers in the sauce too deep" (131-33). She is a person who you could come and talk to and visit because " she was very entertaining, pleasant, and friendly in her ways" (141-42). She is a man with very tender feelings/she was so charitably solicitous" (146-47).

The Plowman on the other hand is probably on this voyage because of his sincerity and faith in its purpose. "He is a honest worker, good, and true, living in peace and perfect charity"(340-41).While this was the story of religion at 'grass-roots' level, at the organizational and hierarchical level, the church developed along a different line. "Loving God with all his heart and mind/ and then his neighbor as himself, repined"(543-44). This process is spearheaded by the papacy and reached its pinnacle under Pope Innocent III in the early 13th Century. He embodied what became known as the papal monarchy' - a situation where the popes literally were kings in their own world. The relative importance of spiritual and secular power in the world was a constant question in the middle ages with both secular emperors and kings, and the popes asserting their claims to rule by divine authority with God's commands for God's people proceeding out of their mouths. The power of the church is hard to exaggerate: its economic a

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1201
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)