The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer Book Analysis Essay Example

Geoffrey Chaucer’s collection of stories known as The Canterbury Tales has been a quality read to many for centuries. The book uses many themes to entertain its readers and convey meanings in the stories. Marriage and desire are two very prevalent themes in the book. Two tales almost all focus on these themes. The “Knight’s Tale” and the “Wife of Bath’s Tale” and prologue both offer insights into marriage people's desire for love. 

In the “Knight’s Tale” marriage is presented as a sacred bond between two people. Two brothers fall in love with Emily, a girl who is the sister of Hippolyta. The two adore her from afar and yearn for her love. They eventually fight to decide who will marry her. This story fits the period. In medieval times knights were chivalrous and would fight to prove their love to women. This was the ideal marriage in medieval times. However, neither of the boys seems to truly love her, but simply desire her love for who they see her as. This desire is what leads them to fight and is the fate of one of them. This desire is what leads to the marriage and 

The Wife of Bath has a different opinion on marriage. In her prologue, she explains her views which are quite controversial for her time.  Her view is that people should be plentiful and follow God’s commandment to be married and have children. Others in the group scoff at her remarks while others like the Pardoner offer support and agreement. In her tale, a knight desires to rape a young woman and does so. He is then punished by having to find what women truly want. He goes around searching for the correct answer and finds an old woman who gives it to him. She says that women desire to have power over their husbands. He is pardoned from his crimes but is forced to marry the old woman. The knight, dismayed, follows through and does. She notices he is unhappy and questions him. She says she can either be a beautiful young woman or a haggard old woman. The knight says she should be whichever she best desires. Desire in this tale revolves around women wanting control in their relationships. This desire leads to their marriage and is what got the knight into this situation. His desire to rape the girl leads to his marriage with the old woman. 

The marriages in both stories differ from each other. The “Wife of Bath’s” marriage is forced upon the knight while the “Knight’s Tale” marriage is sought upon. In the knight’s marriage in the “Wife of Bath’s Tale”, he seems very uninterested and upset that he must marry the old woman. In the “Knight’s Tale” both the brothers would even fight for their love. The “Wife of Bath’s Tale” shows how the woman can control the marriage while the “Knight’s Tale” shows how the men get to decide who they marry. These differences show that marriage is shown in different lights in the two stores. 

The Canterbury Tales consists of many themes. Marriage and desire are two of the most important. Both the “Knight’s Tale” and the “Wife of Bath’s Tale” have these themes in their stories. Both tales do meaningful jobs of using these themes to develop the plot and convey a well written and enthralling story.