In the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, Chaucer intertwines his opinions and views of society throughout his various tales. In each of his tales he expresses his multifarious conceptions of different groups and feelings of his community during his time. In The Pardoner's Tale, Chaucer satirizes the Church by showing the corruption of the Church through the Pardoner's dishonest, greedy and slanderous characteristics.

Chaucer illustrates his views of society in his time through the characters that he creates. In the Pardoner's Tale, he satirizes the Church through the characteristics that the Pardoner possesses. Although the Pardoner is an official sanction of the Church, he does not portray the honesty and justness that a Church official should possess. The Pardoner wants to "preach and beg from kirk to kirk and never do an honest job of work"(pg 244). He does not care about doing an honest day of work as long as when the end of the day comes, he receives his money and priveleges as an official. The Pardoner receives "bulls from popes and cardinals" (pg 241), although he is committed to the Church and the Church vows, he "preach[es]... and tell[s] a hundred lying mockeries more" (pg 242). The Pardoner receives the title from the pope and high authorites that he is part of the Church community, yet he preaches lies in order to gain a profit. Although he preaches the beliefs of the Church, he mocks those ideas at the same time. The Pardoner uses the papal bulls given to him by higher Church officials as an excuse to do as he pleases, "however guilty of that sin" (pg 243). The Pardoner takes advantage of his authority within the Church for his greater benefit and gain. A Church official should act with honesty and integrity, and should want to help out his community by absolving sins and preaching truthful concepts. Chaucer satirizes the Church by writing about the fakeness of the Church and how the Church is not as glorious and virtuous as some may believe true.

Not only does the Pardoner lie and deceive, but he also is full of greediness and rapacity. The Pardoner does not care about absolving others sins, but rather his "exclusive purpose is to win and not at all castigate their sin"(pg 243). He does not care about helping people as long as he gets money for his job. He "preaches for nothing but for greed and gain... and thus "[he] preache[s] against the very vice, [he] make[s] [his] living out of - avarice"(pg 243). The only reason the Pardoner performs the duties of his job is because he gets paid and he gets the benefits from being part of the clergy and higher authority. The Pardoner's job entails that he "will shrive them by the authority committed in this papal bull to [him]"(pg 242). However, the only reason he pardons people from their sin is because it has "been worth a hundred marks a year"(pg 242). The Pardoner preaches the ideas of the Church although he does not believe in what he preaches, because his "principal intent"(pg 243) is "covetousness"(pg 243), because "covetousness is both the root and stuff of all [he] preach[es]"(pg 243). He preaches only because he gets large sums of money in return; he looks upon his job for all the wrong reasons. He does not preach because he believes in what he preaches, but because "the curse of avarice and cupidity is all [his] sermon, for it frees the pelf. Out come the pence, and specially for [him]self, for [his] exclusive purpose is to win"(pg 243). Chaucer satirizes the Church by making his characters completely fake and making the Church seem true and just, yet they hire people that are there for the wrong reasons.

The Pardoner is not only full of lies and greediness, two characteristics that the Church does not approve of, but he also uses slander against the Church. "In churches where [he] preach[es], [he] cultivate[s] a haughty kind of speech"(pg 241) and "flaunt[s] the papal seal for [people's] inspection"(pg 241). He uses his position within the Church for his advantage and does not care about the damages he bestows upon the Church's reputation through his words and in what the people of the Church believe. The Pardoner slanderizes the idea of celebacy within the Church by admitting to the idea that "two or three clergy had enjoyed her love"(pg 242). He defames the name of the Church because he "spit[s] [his] venom forth, while [he] profess[es] holy and true - or seeming holiness"(pg 243). Another activity that the Church disagreed with was excessive drinking and prostitution, despite this the Pardoner "drink[s] the liquor of the grape and keep[s] a jolly wench in every town!"(pg 244). He even tells a tale of three men who engage in "riot and gambling"(pg 244) and "kindle and blow the fires of lechery that are so close annexed to gluttony"(pg 245). The Pardoner slanderizes the Church by engaging in conduct that is against Church beliefs and telling tales that are about people engaging in policies that the Church despises.

In The Pardoners Tale, Chaucer attacks the Church by creating a character that engages in ideas and concepts that the Church does not believe in and then using that person as an embodiment of the Church. Chaucer uses lying, greediness, and slander to satirize the Church because he does not agree with the ways and concepts that the Church looks upon. Especially in The Pardoner's Tale, he mocks the entities of the Church and therefore ridicules it throughout his writing.

Question for the Canterbury Tales essay:

In The Canterbury Tales, how does Chaucer satirize the Church within the Pardoners tale.

Thesis:

In the Pardoner's tale, Chaucer satirizes the Church by showing the corruption of the Church through the ideas of lying, greediness and slandering.

In the Pardoner's Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer, the Pardoner reveals himself as a liar, full of greed and a slanderer. Although the pardoner works for the Church and "preaches"(pg 242), he manages to "tell a hundred lying mockeries more"(pg 242). The Pardoner wants to "preach and beg from kirk to kirk and never do an honest job of work"(pg 244). He discloses himself as a person who not only deceives people with lies, but does not, although working for the Church, want to do honest work. As well as a liar, he also portrays himself with being full of greed. He does not care about others sins and wrongdoings because "specifically for [him]self"(pg 234), his "exclusive purpose is to win and not at all to castigate their sin"(pg 243). He does not preach for the purpose of helping others but "for nothin but but for greed and gain"(pg 243) and to make a "living out of - avarice"(pg 243). The Pardoner also depicts himself as a slanderer for his "tongue will be a dagger"(pg 243). He demeans the reputation fo the Church and "spit[s] my venom forth, while [he] profess[es] holy and true- or seeming holiness"(pg 243). The Pardoner uncovers his faults of being a liar, greedy, and full of slander.

Chaucer is poking fun of the Church in the Pardoner's Tale because he reveals all of the bad attributes that the Pardoner, an employee of the Church, holds. The Pardoner is corrupt and Chaucer is satirizing the Church because of it. The Pardoner reveals that his "exclusive purpose is to win and not at all to castigate their sin"(pg 243). The Church believes in chastity and against sin, but the Pardoner, who represents the Church, preaches to "let [him] drink the liquor of the grape and keep a jolly wench in every town"(pg 244). Those are two acts that are highly against Church conduct. Chaucer poses to make fun of the Church by creating a character that represents the Church in a bad manner to prove that the Church is not as high and mighty as it seems to be.

1. The Wife of Bath "gets around"

" Thou has had five men husband unto thee"- page 259

2. She wants an equal marriage

"I up at once and smote him on the cheek"- page 280

3. Has a dominant position in her relationships

" I'll have a husband yet who shall be both my debator and slave" - page 262

" Myself have been the whip" - page 263

4. Experienced

" I've been an expert as a wife" - page 263

5. Lusty

" For Venus sent me feeling from the stars and my hesrt's boldness came to me from Mars. Venus gave me desire and lecherousness and Mars my hardihood..." - page 274

6. Promiscuous

" My fifth and last... the one i took for love and not for wealth" - page 272

7. Older
" He was, i think, some 20 winters old, and i was 40 then" - page 274

8. Party Girl

" The fun of seein people and being seen" - page 273

9. She always goes after what she wants

" Little i cared, if he was fond of me"- page 275

( She didnt care if he did not like her because she was going to go after him no matter what)

In the tale of The Wife of Bath, the ideas of equality for men and women are expressed through the desire for women to have self- soverignty, equality, and the man's knowledge that women are in charge. Alison, the Wife of Bath, expresses her desire for equality for men and women within a marriage through her want of self soverignty. She believes that "a woman wants the self-same sovereignty over her husband as over her lover, and master him" (pg 286). Alison also encourages the idea that "[a husband] must not be above [a wife]." Through equality, she seeks to level out the hold of power between the husband and the wife. When Johnny, her husband, "smote [her] on the head"(pg 279), she "at once smote him on the cheek and said 'take that to level up the score'"(page 280). In The Wife of Bath, equality is stressed throughout the tale through the ideas of self- sovereignty for women, equality within a marriage and the man's knowledge that women are in charge.