The Canturbury Tales
To manipulate is defined by Webster's dictionary as: to cause by clever maneuvering, to act as one wishes. In a class structured society such as the one during the times of the Canterbury Tales, did the ability to manipulate, open doors to those seeking greater power and recognition? In the case of the Knight and the Wife of Bath in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales manipulation was the key to opening the doors of their success. These two characters, the Knight and the Wife of Bath share differences and similarities in their characters however, they demonstrate their ability use their perfected traits to manipulate others and achieving their desires. One of the most obvious differences between the two, is gender. It is a is a boundary which determines the degree of success that each is able to achieve. The views of gender during the era in which The Canterbury Tales takes place, distinguishes men as superior to women. Therefore being a woman restrained the Wife of Bath from succeeding and blossoming to her full potential. Even if she did achieve success, she would never be as widely respected as the Knight. The Knight however, being a male possesses endless possibilities. Personality difference is another factor whi
The two characters, the Knight and the Wife of Bath display differences and similarities in their personality traits however, they exhibit their ability to manipulate others through their perfected qualities in achieving their desires. The Knight used manipulation for indirect gain, he was carrying out acts of God but seemed to be more interested in the gaining reputation and the refinement of his status. The Wife of Bath used her manipulation more directly to gain wealth from men using her sexuality. For each of the individual characters manipulation benefited them but presented negative consequences on the opposite end of the spectrum. ch set these two apart. The Knight, though intimidating he does not enjoy conflict. He displays his dislike for tension at the end of the Pardoner's tale when he breaks in and attempts to stop bickering between the Host and the Pardoner ordering them to "kiss and make up" (Chaucer,295) This shows his aversion to conflict or unhappiness of any sort. The Wife of Bath demonstrates the exact opposite. She thrives on the presence of negative energy. Because of her bold face and five previous marriages, she has learned to feed off of negativity and convert it to p
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Approximate Word count = 817
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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