ian did not read the Bible very much (31). Chaucer implies that the Physician is a sinner, who did not see an error in his dishonesty. Many analysts believe that Chaucer was trying to portray certain qualities through the vivid descriptions of the characters, such as in the following quote describing the physician; In blood-red garments, slashed with bluish grey / And lined with taffeta (Chaucer 31). The reader could infer that the red represented his deceit of the people, whom he treated and the slash of bluish grey could represent his internal struggle to be honest. The color of a persons wardrobe during the Middle Ages often showed their social status. The wealthy usually wore brightly colored garments and the lower class wore pale colors such as grey and black (Middle Ages Clothing). The blood-red garments could represent his wealth, and the grey shows that his wealth is tainted by his deception of the people that trusted him. Various admirers believed that, Chaucer himself seemed to dislike the physician. John Gardner, a critic, claimed the Physicians tale is an example of Chaucers intentionally bad art. Chaucer, so the theory runs, disliked the Physician because of his defrauding ways, and so gave him a bad tale in order to punish him. Chaucer used sarcasm and irony to describe the physician and to show his dislike of him in the quote, He was a perfect practicing physician (Chaucer 30). The Physician may not be considered Chaucers best work, but it deserves its place with the rest of The Canterbury Tales and recognition for being the best of the worse. Even though the time period has changed, it seems that peoples actions have not. Even in todays society some physicians are still corrupt, many being entangled in insurance and Medicare fraud. Every year more than an hundred physicians are charged with fraud but in most cases 57.4 percent have no action taken against them (Insurance Fraud). Because the lack of punish...
