That hast the sighte of hir, and I th’adsence.…But I, that am exyled and bareyneOf alle grace, and in so greet despeir,That ther nis erthe, water, fyr, ne eir,Ne creature, that of hem maked is,That may me helpe or doon confort in this:Wel oughte I sterve in wanhope and distresse;Farwel my lyf, my lust, and my gladnesse!” (58 and 60)Emily has caused him such distress that he cries all the time and contemplates killing himself so he won’t have to feel this every day pain that appears to have no end. All of this because of a woman. Emily is a sweet, innocent woman of her times. In a strange twist for a woman of The Canterbury Tales, she is perfectly happy alone and doesn’t ever want to be married. Yet, Palamon and Arcite duel twice for Emily’s love and Arcite ends up losing his life all because of her. Palamon, winning her by default, serves Emily faithfully for several years before she agrees to marry him, still notloving him, though. No one wins in “The Knight’s Tale,” but it is the two men who fight over the woman who lose the most. The “Nun’s Priest’s Tale” is perhaps the best representation of men’s downfall due to the influence of women. The story revolves around a rooster, Chauntercleer, the most beautiful cock in all of England with the sweetest voice an any ear has heard. He has seven wives but his favorite was Pertelote, an elegant hen in her own right. It is this woman, this female, that causes Chauntercleer greattrouble. One night Chauntercleer wakes suddenly from a bad dream. Seemingly seeking comfort in her, he tells Pertelot about the dream which involves a wild, rampant dog with beady eyes coming after Chauntercleer. But instead of consoling her “husband”, she challenges his manhood and says that no man hers should be scared of a dream. This causes Chauntercleer to go off on a tangent about the...
