Franklin's Tale From the Book the Canterbury Tales Term Paper

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 877 words ( 3 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 1+

Page 1 of 3

Franklin's Tale from the book the Canterbury Tales

At the end of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Franklin's Tale the author asks, "Which seems the finest gentleman to you?" Although all the characters demonstrate chivalrous behavior, all except one has ulterior motives behind their actions, and that person is the magician.

Dorigen loves her husband deeply, yet her immature nature imposes on all those around her. She is so distraught when Arveragus leaves, that she mopes and frets like a schoolgirl. Her behavior worries her friends who invest their time and energy into trying to make her happy. When they take her for walks along the seacoast, she only becomes more upset because the ships remind her of Arveragus and the rocks along the coast only remind her of the all the deaths they have caused. When her friends take her to a social gathering and she is confronted by Aurelius, who has been secretly in love with her for years, rather than handling the situation with compassion and maturity, she turns the approach into a sort of riddle. She states that if he could make the rocks disappear to ensure Arveragus' safe return home, she would accept Aurelius' advances. Never believing that such an act was possible, Dorigen feels safe from the fate of the promise and rather smug that she has avoided a direct confrontation with Aurelius.

Stuck Writing Your "Franklin's Tale From the Book the Canterbury Tales" Term Paper?

View All Our Example Franklin's Tale From the Book the Canterbury Tales Term Paper

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

Moreover, she is asserting that it is Arveragus that she loves since it is his welfare that she is seeking to ensure, however, she is basically toying with Aurelius' emotions.

Although Aurelius releases her from her debt, "That made me have of her so great pity, And right as freely as he sent her to me, As freely sent I her to him again," he nevertheless, had actually instigated the drama by making advances towards a married woman. He was as much of a schoolboy as Dorigen was a schoolgirl. Both immature. Both unable to control their emotions of desire. He, like Dorigen, moped and fretted until someone came to his rescue. At his brother's suggestion, Aurelius enlists the services of a magician to make the rocks have the appearance of disappearing, an illusion. Thus, like Dorigen, he is using trickery to deceive. And like Dorigen, he is consumed with his own emotions and his own desires. He is not truly honoring the agreement because the illusion is not insurance that passage is safe. The rocks are still there, they only appear to be gone, therefore, sailing ships could still, and perhaps even more likely, be in danger. However, the only outcome of the illusion that Aurelius was concerned….....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Franklin's Tale From The Book The Canterbury Tales" (2005, May 12) Retrieved June 17, 2025, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/franklin-tale-book-canterbury-tales-66163

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Franklin's Tale From The Book The Canterbury Tales" 12 May 2005. Web.17 June. 2025. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/franklin-tale-book-canterbury-tales-66163>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Franklin's Tale From The Book The Canterbury Tales", 12 May 2005, Accessed.17 June. 2025,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/franklin-tale-book-canterbury-tales-66163
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example