Women in the Middle Ages - 1271 Words

Women in the Middle Ages In the middle ages, the typical woman would not have had the freedom to do what she wanted; she would have to obey the male members of her family. This included her husband, brothers, uncles and even her own sons (http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/). However, there were many women who did not fall under this category of typical women and would manipulate, control or disobey the men around them giving them more power. In The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer we have Emelye from The Knights Tale (KT) who would be considered the typical women and Alison from The Millers Tale (MT) who would not be. It is due to their personalities, their social classes and their actions or surroundings which causes their†¦show more content†¦Alison married A riche gnof, that gestes heeld to bord, And of his craft he was a carpenter (73, 3188-3199, MT). Her husband being a wealthy carpenter means that they are the upper end of the lower class but part of the lower class (peasants) none the less. Although women of the lower class were still expected to act a certain way, it had to do more with the chores they needed to do and less to do with upholding the image of a typical woman because their actions were noticed by fewer people (http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/). This means some of them were able to use this leniency in respect to being a typical woman and flip it in order to benefit themselves, as Alison did. Also, the fact that she is younger might of even added some additional leniency since her husband was worried about being cuckolded and might not of focused on other aspects as much. So, not only did these women differ from being a typical woman but they were raised in different environments that impacted their lifestyle greatly as well. Both characters have an experience that they have no control over, and it is their actions as well as their surroundings which play a big role in how the women differ from one another. With Emelye, it was mai nly because she was the ideal target for courtly love due to her nobility and the fact that she wanted to remain a virgin or remain unattached; the two mainShow MoreRelatedWomen Of The Middle Ages2422 Words   |  10 Pagesfor women and children in the middle ages. We have abusive spouse and such in today’s time period, but in the Middle Ages abuse was even encouraged â€Å"as a way to keep women under control† (Lawler). The children had it worse. The children of the Middle Ages, were abused by men, women and even servants to make them behave. In the Middle Ages, the law did not intervene. If you were a woman of upper class then you were lucky! 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