The people of Medieval English society are seen to many as a culture that was holy and without a doubt moral. In The Canterbury Tales, a story about the flaws of Medieval English society, Chaucer proves otherwise. He writes about how the social status of an individual can be deceiving; consequently, he describes certain members of the clergy as being corrupt and immoral. The way the author describes the characters suggests that he is unsatisfied with the two-facedness of an individual's rank and who they are in reality. Chaucer satirizes the hypocrisy, falsehood, and failings of Medieval English society and its institutions by poking fun at the flaws of his characters such as the Woman from Bath City, the Doctor, and the Friar.
Chaucer uses the Woman from Bath to show the deceit of an individual's rank by satirizing the idea of "worthy women" in the middle class. A worthy woman is someone who is honest, modest, and devout only to the church and her husband. When the Woman from Bath goes to church, the author reveals why she really does:.
In all the parish not a dame dared stir.
Toward the altar steps in front of her,.
And if indeed they did, so wrath was she.
As to be quite put out of charity. (460-463).
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Chaucer suggests that she only attends in an attempt to show her piety by offering money to the church. Chaucer also describes her as being furious when other women reach the altar before her. She becomes angry because she is competitive and wants to show that she is the most righteous woman. A worthy woman would not go to church in order to enhance her own status. Furthermore, the author not only describes her dishonesty, but also her flashy appearance:.
Her kerchiefs were of finely woven ground;.
I dare have sworn they weighed a good ten.
pound,.
The ones she wore on Sunday [to church], on her head.
Her hose were of the finest scarlet red.
And gartered tight; her shoes were soft and new.
