Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Attire
In the "General Prologue," Chaucer's narrator is very concerned with what his pilgrims are wearing. Select one pilgrim (or maybe for the sake of contrast two), and discuss in a short post how the pilgrim is dressed and what, in turn, attire tells about this character. Alternatively, you might speak broadly about the role of clothing in the "GP."
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As the Narrator describes each pilgrim, he often makes it sound as though he is offering praise about them and then slips in a quick line to show us what they are really like. One such example is found in his description of the Knight. He talks extensively about how the Knight has a high social standing, is honored for the crusades he has gone on, and that he is a "reputable man". But when Chaucer moves to discuss the man's attire, we find that the Knight is not all he's chalked up to be. Chaucer describes the man's chainmail as "begrimed with rust." This reveals the Knight's carelessness and tells us that the Narrator recognizes that the Knight is seen by many as a man of high standing, but is actually (as is indicated by his attire) not a very good knight after all.
ReplyDeleteThe contrast between the Knight and the Monk is very interesting. The Knight is seen as the higher station, and as a gentleman. The Knight is described as "not gaily dressed" even thought Chaucer's narrator had described him as the "truly perfect, noble knight". The Knight is either careless or a very busy knight who travels very often. In contrast, the Monk is a man who loves hunting, wealthy and well-fed. Where the Knight is seen as a man who goes to battle for the sake of his beliefs, the Monk was seen as a man who was breaking the mold of what a Monk was seen: devoted to the study of the Bible, with little earthly pleasures. The Knight and the Monk stand in different side of how each should do his duty.
ReplyDeleteThe Narrator's comments on the the Knight's attire were the most notable to me after reading the general prologue. The Knights high social standing was quite evident throughout Chaucer's descriptions. The night cares about his standing as is evidenced by his attire, but who unfortunately when looked at with closer detail one can see his true standing. The knights rusting chainmail is rusting which shows that his appearance of high social standing is not the true and actual reality.
ReplyDeleteChaucer's narrator describes each of his pilgrims in distinct detail in terms of attire. Clothing worn by these pilgrims has either a relation to their line of work, or an underlying meaning of revealing character. For example, Chaucer's narrator portrays the Wife of Bath as one of the flirtacious women in the group of the pilgrims. The "worthy woman" is clothed in scarlet red, with new shoes,a tight garter, as well as a bold, handsome face. It seems that the Wife of Bath has had five husbands, not to mention other lovers in her youth. Despite her gap-teeth, this woman dresses in a flirtacious manner with a flowing mantle and hat with a distorted knowledge of how love works.
ReplyDeleteA specific section in the General Prologue that jumped out at me was the description of the knights servant, the yeoman. Chaucer doesn't describe the man's build, character, personality, or face but instead vividly describes every inch of his clothing and attire. He talks of his coat and hood, and then describes his weapns, braces, and medals. The man is carrying a bow, fine arrows, a sword, a fancy dagger, and a horn. He appears to be someone who handles himself well and would be a valuable assett in the face of danger or lost in the forest. His attire says alot about him.
ReplyDeleteRather than describing her ontological self, Chaucer uses the wife of Bath’s clothing in order to symbolize the façade she puts on for society. At first glance, the wife of Bath is a virtuous person who is eager to give alms; however, it seems as though she gives alms solely for the sake of augmenting her social standing. In reality, the wife of Bath is a rather loose woman who has been married five times by the church on top of having previous promiscuous relationships. Much like the way in which she attempts to put on a façade of piety, the wife of Bath’s physical appearance is deceiving. At first glance, one would portray her as being an attractive woman with a handsome face, scarlet red stockings (which are symbolic of her promiscuity), brand new shoes, a riding skirt, and a hat. However, upon further observation one would realize that her handsome face disguises her gapped teeth, her fine clothes cover up her husky figure, and her brand new shoes are distractions from the sharp pair of spurs on her feet. Hence, when Chaucer is describing the wife of Bath’s clothing, he is doing so in order to add depth to a character that hides beneath her pseudo piety.
ReplyDeleteReading through these stories, he goes definitely goes through to talk about their physical appearance to represent partially their status in whichever social standing they are at. What I found to be most interesting about the readings was the Knight and the look he gave while the narrator was describing him. At first, we find that the narrator is an elite, someone who already has very high standings within the community and basically higher than most people within the tale. The narrator described him as someone who is honored and outstanding within the community, but shows a truly different perspective when describing the clothing. While reading, the clothing really represents a higher, more true meaning to the person himself; which we find later that the Knight is someone who is a little apathetic towards his belongings.
ReplyDeleteI find between the knight and his squire to be quite interesting. Socially, the knight is of higher standing than the squire (especially since the squire is his son). However, you would not guess this from the description. The text tells us that the knight is not "gay" (dressed fancily)and that his tunic is stained from his mail. From his description he seems tired and exhausted. His son, on the other hand is dressed in embroidery like a meadow. He is wearing fine clothing and is full of energy. This interests me because the knight should be dressed better than the squire because of his higher standing. I think this shows us that the squire holds a brighter future than the knight, both because of their attitudes and attire.
ReplyDeleteI really like Chaucer's description of the knight. He describes him with having incredible characteristics that would seem worthy for a knight; he is courageous and trustworthy. He describes this character with such fame that no other man has had. This man is for sure a noble knight. Then Chaucer seems to go in a different direction and describe his appearance. His appearance makes the knight much more historic. Some people would view this as a bad trait, but I see it as a great one. I think that having a chainmail "all begrimed with rust" gives the reader the idea that this knight has traveled high and low to conquer on his journey. The man seems tired but could come forth with plenty of stories to tell. I think this adds much more character to the reputation of a knight.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite characters to read about was the Wife of Bath; she's incredibly intriguing up next to the other characters. Her outfit consisted of tight scarlet stockings and a riding skirt, complete with new shoes that had spurs on the back. She was a large woman that was incredibly independent and oozing with self-confidence. Almost too in touch with her sexuality, which can be seen in the expensive red fabric she wears, red being a provocative color often representing passion, she has been married five times and has had numerous lovers. The riding skirt and spurs shows that she is not the model of an ideal Medieval woman, like the nun is trying so hard to fit into; instead, she rides her own horse. Contrasted with other characters that are also wearing expensive, over-the-top garments like the monk's robe that was lined in squirrel fur, it's almost refreshing because she simply is what she is, scandal and all, but with little pretenses.
ReplyDeleteI love the way how Chaucer describes the physical appearance in detail. The clothes worn were representations of their status and also relating to their uncovered character. The most intriguing detail I found was of the Wife of Bath and the Knight. The Wife is known to have had numerous husbands and wears revealing clothing that represents how skewed her perspective about love is. The Knight is illustrated as a high-class elite with high honor by being polit. He is the noblest and embodies military prowess, loyalty, and never says bad words to another person in the community.
ReplyDeleteThe character of the Wife of Bath is highly satirized in the General Prologue. While she is described to have been "a worthy womman al hir lyve" (459), she has also had five husbands. Beyond the fact that she has had five different husbands, Chaucer also seems to make a comment on her sensuality through describing her scarlet red hose, her gap-teeth, and how she knew "of remedies of love" (475). Thus, it is ironic that such a lady of "worthy" character is traveling on pilgrimage. It leads the reader to wonder why she is on pilgrimage and what gain she gets from going on pilgrimage despite the undertoned description of her un-pious lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteThe narrator’s description of the Monk’s attire provided a fair amount of insight about his character. As detailed in the “General Prologue,” The Monk’s sleeves were trimmed with the finest of furs and his hood fastened under his chin by a gold pin. This seems rather odd adornment for a man of the cloth, but the narrator plainly stated “his [the Monk’s] opinion was good” and this was reflected in the classy way by which he dressed. He was a well put together man in all respects and carried and air of sophistication about him. The fur and gold give the appearance of wealth and high social status, both of which also seem desirable qualities to the narrator. It would appear this character was developed as one to be well-liked and respected.
ReplyDeleteA good comparison of characters and their attire, is of the Knight and the businesswoman from Bath. Chaucer describes what they are wearing and their appearance, and uses it to define their status in society. Chaucer describes the knight as reputable, but describes his attire as far from smart. His chain mail is rusty and his tunic is rough and grimy. He is respectable, but he has a very physical life which is not luxurious. Compared to this, the businesswoman from Bath is dressed in, "the finest weave". All of her clothing is described as pristine, new and of the finest quality. Chaucer tries to portray her as someone who is independent, professional and prestigious in her time. Her garb foreshadows her personality and status in society.
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