Hypocrisy And Corruption In The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales is Chaucer’s attempt to convey what he had seen during his life. The tales give a glimpse into the Middle Ages, a time of terror in history. The Canterbury Tales are full of hypocrisy, especially in religious characters like the Prioress. Chaucer exposed these hypocrites through his tales in order to demonstrate the corruption of the church at the time.

A prioress leads a group or nuns. She is an example of a devout Christian and a role-model for all her nuns. It was her behavior and actions that were the biggest problem. She acted contrary to her title, which showed her hypocrisy. The story shows that the prioress did exactly what a good nun would do. She is not modest or devoted to God, but she does care about materialistic matters. A nun wouldn’t normally indulge in fine wine and food. She did not dip her fingertips in sauce. She ate her food with great care. “Not a drop of water fell on her breast”. She was a food lover and fed her dogs the best food. The nuns’ beliefs are against this because they believe that a woman should only feed the needy, not her own dogs. Her view of her own position was the problem with her beliefs. She acted as if she was a wealthy individual, instead of worshiping God and dedicating herself. She became fluent in French because that was the language used by high-class ladies at the time. She also wore her jewelry and showed it off. She is a hypocrite because of all these characteristics. She’s supposed to be modest and humble, but she acts like she belongs to the upper class. She acts against her prioress role and sets an example that is not good for other nuns. She never gets punished for what she does and continues to think that it is okay. Monks are very religious and devoted to God. Since they have no materialistic needs, and because they were sworn to modesty by the Church, they are very modest. The Monk is completely opposite to how a true monk would act. The Monk’s actions were not what monks are supposed to do. The monk was a hunter and kept greyhounds. “Since hunting the hare, and riding horses”, he had been hunting. If it were all love, he would spare no expense. A monk’s main duty is to pray and dedicate his life to god, not go hunting. The monk’s attitude toward materialistic objects was the bigger problem. The monk wore fine clothes. He had a pin of gold that was well crafted. There was a love-knot at the end of the rope. The monk was too materialistic in his life and appearance. He swore not to follow this attitude when he became monk, which makes him hypocritical. The fact that he did not receive any punishment or was even asked about his actions shows the corruption of religious institutions. Chaucer seems to suggest that monks were also involved in this.

The Pardoner is the most hypocritical character of all. The pardoner was hypocritical compared to the prioress and monk, whose characters are hypocritical for being a certain thing but not actually being it. He preached against his own actions. Chaucer could have used the pardoner’s portrayal to expose the pardoners in that period. The Pardoner, however, did harm to people by stealing from them. While the Monks and Prioresses were hypocrites and did not harm anyone with their hypocrisy. In the tale, it is stated that the pardoner stole from the poor of Rome and those who were common. Chaucer says that “Some parson, then, this paragon. On that day, more money would be gained.” This is seen when Chaucer says “Some simple parson, then this paragon. In that one day more money stood to gain.” He knew he was “too polished in his tongue to preach.” He was singing loudly and merrily in order to win some money, which he had every right to do. He preaches all about selfishness and greed but then steals from people to gain money. The Pardoner tells people to confess their sins and asks him to pray for God’s forgiveness. The pardoner represents the hypocrisy and corruption of religious figures in the church. His story reveals how he pretended to be against what was happening and then stole from the people.

All three characters share a theme. All three characters belong to the same church, but are corrupted by hypocrisy. In the stories, they go against church vows and are never punished. Chaucer lived at a time where there was much corruption. He used his experiences and observations to expose the Church. Chaucer is known as a Christian. However, he was not afraid to expose the Church. He wrote tales to demonstrate that he did not like the church and what it practised. Chaucer was also trying to convey something about the medieval world. He also wanted to show something about medieval society at the time.