In the Canterbury Tales Chaucer depicts marriage in many different ways and has different attitudes towards it. On one end he has a very traditional view which is illustrated in Franklin's tale. The opposing end though he has a very liberal view in other tales such as wife of Bathes and Franklin's tale. Although Chaucer has a mixed attitude towards the way marriages are suppose to be he does gives aspects of what is needed to have a good marriage and that will be the main focal point of this essay.…
Some students might argue that this early action of John establishes that he loves his wife and tries to please her, but Elizabeth remains separated from him. She appears somewhat aloof or withdrawn. This distance is obviously due to John’s infidelity.…
The story gives two suitable examples in the relationships between John and Annie versus Sandy and Tenie. The narrator, John, expresses plenty of opportunities to show that he might not have married his wife strictly for love purposes. It seems as though he only does certain things for his wife in order to placate her, rather than because he actually loves her. At the end of the story, John gives the impression of irritation with his wife when she wishes to not use the wood from the school house because believes in the fantasy of the story told by Julius with all of its supernatural elements by saying, “‘you wouldn’t for a moment allow yourself’, I replied with some asperity, ‘to be influenced by that absurdly impossible yarn which Julius was spinning today?’” (Chesnutt, 53). His tone with her illustrates extreme distaste for his wife’s suggestion of finding different wood, even though he eventually abides her wish and finds different wood to build the…
It has often been claimed that with marriage comes loves. This belief, although true for some, is false for others. Janie, the protagonist in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, was one of many young ladies who realized love is not always found in marriage. Her previous proposals had discouraged her in her search for true adoration, but, with her third marriage, Janie finally encountered undevoted love. Out of her three marriages, her last one was where Janie grew the most. In Janie’s last marriage with Tea Cake she learns to ignore false rumors that may bring doubt and to trust her husband so her heart will be open to his love.…
The Wife of Bath is named “Alis” (326), which is short for Allison in modern English. Interestingly, she shares the name with the young wife in “The Miller’s Tale,” also from Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. The name, then, represents a challenge to the patriarchy as much as the person does. Within “The Miller’s Tale,” Allison commits adultery and sees herself as above her older, but unarguably devoted husband. The Wife of Bath is also guilty of the same things. Her first “three men were goode… and olde” (203); thus, the character of Allison within “The Miller’s Tale” could likely be a younger embodiment of the Wife of Bath. However, Allison in the tale is portrayed in a way that makes her appear entirely cruel and unjustified in her actions. The Wife of Bath argues that she is justified in her actions because of the harsh inequalities created by the patriarchy. The difference between the two could be attributed to a situation where Chaucer’s own beliefs conflict with the beliefs of his characters.…
Love and fidelity are universal concepts. According to Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte, the issue of fidelity is depicted to be an ideal that is never achieved. Since ‘women are like that’. In Cosi Fan Tutte, Mozart encourages the belief that man should simply accept women are indeed disloyal in relationships. Nowra illustrates this same idea about women and infidelity through Lewis and Lucy’s relationship. Lucy cannot understand why Lewis is directing a play about love when thousands are dying in the Vietnam War. Lucy believes that the Vietnam War and politics are more important than anything else. Nowra presents the realities that took place in society with the relationships and the idea of free love. While Lucy is ‘sleeping’ with Lewis, she is also ‘having sex’ with Nick. The idea of free love was popular within the people at the time period and women were all labeled as unfaithful by society. When Lewis discovers Lucy’s betrayal, she waves aside his shock, defending that ‘it is not as if we’re married.’ The revelation does indeed prove that Così Fan Tutte is correct in stating that, ‘woman’s constancy is like the Arabian Phoenix. Everyone swears it exists, but no one has seen it.’ However it is ironic that Lewis questions Lucy’s fidelity when he too is being unfaithful. This is presented as…
Nicholas, with his outrageous sense of humour and eager pursuit of love, functions as the charming, likeable hero in Miller's Tale. He is introduced as "hende Nicholas", and his conduct does not at all answer to the usual sense of the adjective which implies great courtesy, but its suggestion of approval is repeatedly invoked as the Miller refers to his hero by this formula. We learn at once that he is knowledgeable and of his interest in astrology. This is seen as a respectable branch of learning, but Nicholas is aware of its power to impress others, while he is able to supplement his income by weather-forecasting. He is also helped financially by friends. The imaginary flood of which Nicholas tells John shows us his cunning, his confident attitude, his inventiveness and especially his contempt for the stupid tradesman: 'Don't worry about that,' said Nicholas, / 'His time's been badly wasted, if a scholar / Can't get the better of a carpenter.' (lines 191-193) In spite of this, however, the Miller presents the astrologer in a way that makes the audience like Nicholas. He does this by making John seem deserving of punishment for his unwise marriage and subsequent jealousy. Nicholas's youth and attractiveness makes us less critical of his boldness, and the comic manner of the tale's telling makes his conduct seem less worthy of censure than would be the case with real people. Nicholas seems a more appropriate partner for Alison than does John, and the Miller's repetition of the formula "hende Nicholas" encourages us to be more sympathetic. However, it is important to note that Nicholas does not escape his daring plan without any consequences. His over-confidence and lack of prudence earn him a punishment appropriate to his offence, and in keeping with the farcical spirit of the tale he is "scalded in the towte" by his rival, who mistakes him for Alison. Thus, Nicholas may be the character that has the audience rooting for him by being likeable and providing good…
Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail Williams are two main characters in Arthur Miller’s novel The Crucible. Abigail Williams was once the servant for Proctor however Elizabeth Proctor fires her after she learns about Abigail and her husband’s affair. Both women are same in some ways but they have different motives.…
Growing up as a child was very met morale and a sometimes fun other times not experience. Many memories are developed during your childhood but many memories are forgotten. Memories that are remembered are apart of who we are today an what makes us how we are. These memories and experiences tech us life lessons that we use without knowing it everyday. A memorable day for me was in a lacrosse game in the 2012-13 lacrosse season.…
Willy and Nora: Tragic Heroes or Home-wreckers? No one has a perfect life. Despite what Aaron Spelling and his friends in the media might project to society today, no one's life is perfect. Everyone has conflicts that they must face sooner or later. The ways in which people deal with these conflicts can be just as varied as the people themselves. Some procrastinate and ignore their problems as long as they can, while others attack problems to get them out of the way as soon as possible. The Lowman and Helmer families have a number of problems that they deal with in different ways, which proves their similarities and differences. Both Willy Loman, the protagonist of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman and Nora Helmer, protagonist of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House experience an epiphany where they realize that they were not the person the thought they were: while Willy's catharsis brings about his death, Nora's brings her to a new life; hers. Both character's flaws bring about their departure from their respective families as well. They are both overly concerned with the appearances they and their families present to society: as a result they both project false images to others. From their appearance, both seem to be involved in stable marriages and appear to be going places. Willy's job as a traveling salesman seems stable (although we never know what it is he sells) when he tells his family that he "knocked 'em cold in Providence, slaughtered 'em in Boston" (Miller 1228). It is not until Willy's wife, Linda tells us that he "drives 700 miles and when he gets there, no one knows him any more, no one welcomes him" (Miller 1241). If that's not enough to convince readers of his failure on the job, the fact that he gets fired after working for the same company for 36 years cements his incompetency in the business world to readers. While Nora does not work in the business world, (few woman, if any did over 120 years ago) her failure to take care of her responsibilities…
Overall, both John and Ann are both responsible for John’s misfortune. The lack of communication, attention and support between them lead to the misunderstanding of each other’s needs. Furthermore, they pursue for different things in their lives. It is true that marriage can sometime result in people living confused and miserable.…
Though responsibility for Ann’s affair cannot be placed on John, his misplaced efforts of affection lead to her feelings of discontent. As the hard working farmer that he is, John shows his love and commitment to Ann through his diligent care and provision for her. John hopes to give Ann a “new house and pretty clothes” (370) through his hard work; however, he neglects to see her longing for the time they might spend together now, rather than later. Though John takes interest and concern in his wife’s loneliness and need for company, he continues to demonstrate his love by hard work “done for her sake” (371),…
Gerald Weales questions Miller’s reading of the records in The Crucible: Text and Criticism (New York: Penguin Books, 1978), pp. 164, 372.…
The narrator tells us John is a complex and sometimes contradictory character. He is very practical, «he scoffs openly at any talk of things not to be felt and seen and put down in figures». He is a controlling type as we see from how he always tells what needs to be done and how. We also see his character is patronizing. For example, he calls his wife « a blessed little goose» and treats her like a little kid. However, despite of this negative character traits, John is a grateful and loving husband.…
The Miller’s Tale from The Canterbury Tales shows many elements of a fabliau. A fabliau is a short story that had comical and colorful observations on life. The stories would make comical shots at marriage, treatment of women, and religion. Since the story that the Miller tells is about a carpenter's wife that cheats on him, the Reeve doesn’t want the Miller to tell his story. A common occurrence in a fabliau is a love triangle with four people. In the Miller’s Tale there is a character named Nicholas who is living with the carpenter and his wife Alison. Nicholas falls in love with Alison and she falls in love with him. Alison is still in love with the carpenter too. The fourth person in the story is a parish clerk named Absalon, and he is…