"Some say the things we most desire are these: / Freedom to do exactly as we please," is an excerpt from Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales that directly correlates with the books easily recognizable thematic idea. Mankind will bring about his own fate by his behaviors. Within the three tales of The Franklin, The Merchant, and The Wife of Bath, the fortunateness of the characters' marriages comes from each of the individuals' actions. The human nature of love and courtship is revealed through each marriage and can be easily understood when analyzing every couple's selfish or selfless behaviors.
When a pretentious Knight takes advantage of a young girl at his discretion, a selfish demeanor of this character is revealed. The Wife of Bath's Tale shows the successfully progressive behav
The Merchant's Tale on the contrary to the other two tales, portrays all of mankind's poor attributes. An old man has set out to find himself a young wife, and in the process of doing so, he looses sight of what is important in his future wedlock, "Flesh should be young though fish should be mature." And with his repeated misperception of satisfactory love, he continues to be mistreated by the youthful wife he obtained. The old man had a selfish attitude, as he was always looking over her making sure he had her full attention at all times. As a result, his wife engaged in a comical affair with their squire. A non-successful marriage was obtained here as a result of the husband's poor behavior and egotistical nature.
The most virtuous display of moral human nature is shown with al
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