The Narrator

The narrator is none other than the poet, Geoffrey Chaucer, himself. Still, he has kept himself away from
including his personal biased opinions. His expertise in carving the characters is projected in presenting
the characters as they were. In ‘Canterbury Tales’, he too is a pilgrim who is on his way to Canterbury.

Characters in The Canterbury Tales

 1 The Narrator

 2 The Host (Harry Bailey)

 3 The Knight

 4 The Squire

 5 The Yeoman

 6 The Prioress (Madame Eglantine)

 7 Second Nun

 8 The Three Priests

 9 The Monk

 10 Hubert, the Friar

 11 The Merchant

 12 The Clerk

 13 The Man of Law (or Sergeant of Law)

 14 The Franklin

 15 The Guildsmen

 16 Roger, the Cook

 17 The Shipman

 18 The Physician

 19 The Wife of Bath (Alisoun)

 20 The Parson

 21 The Plowman

 22 The Reeve
  23 The Miller

 24 The Summoner

 25 The Pardoner

 26 The Manciple

The Narrator

The narrator is none other than the poet, Geoffrey Chaucer, himself. Still, he has kept himself away from
including his personal biased opinions. His expertise in carving the characters is projected in presenting
the characters as they were. In ‘Canterbury Tales’, he too is a pilgrim who is on his way to Canterbury.

“The Canterbury Tales” is actually a collection of short stories, all written in classical Middle English by
the 14th-century poet, Geoffrey Chaucer. The stories themselves are diverse and filled with dozens of
characters. However, the characters in the game that truly drive the story are those that play a pivotal
role in all of the sections, whether in an obvious way or in a background fashion. Out of the characters of
the stories, there are seven that are particularly relevant to the story as a whole.

The Narrator

The Narrator in the story represents Chaucer, of course. However, the narrator is also the voice of
reason in the story. He is the only objective witness in the story because he tells things the way that they
are.

The Knight

Arguably the main character of the story, the Knight is present in nearly all of the stories—at least in
mention. He is the personification of all of the features any good courtier was supposed to have in the
mid 14th century—prowess, fidelity, reputation, and generosity. In the stories, the Knight is the
personification of refinement and ability. The reader is told that the Knight has fought Turks, Spaniards,
Russians, Muslims, and Egyptians, indicating that he is a well-traveled and hardy fighter. The Knight
represents chivalry, adventure, and valor in the story. He is arguably the only reliable and honorable
character in the stories.

The Pardoner

The Pardoner is personified in the stories as a crook and an exploiter. Pardoners of the day were those
who sold indulgences to religious folk who wanted to atone for their sins. The Pardoner in these stories
is no different other than that he takes his job a little too joyously. The Pardoner is seen as someone
who just wants to cash in on the weaknesses of the religious and then move on. He is a material man
who desires for material things, ironically contrasting the stereotype of his position. The Pardoner is a
representation of division and corruption, primarily in the church. What he sells as artifacts are actually
pieces of junk, which personified Chaucer’s take on the church at the time.

The Wife of Bath

The archetypal housewife, the Wife of Bath is a home-hardened woman with a love for extravagance
and night-life. She wears fine clothes and the most stylish fashions around. However, despite her
outward fashion, she is a nagging woman, which fits the 14th-century stereotype of wives to a T. She is
argumentative, intelligent and enduring—even through the transgressions of her husband. What is more
is that she is a sexual being, using her sexuality as a tool against her husband or other men when they
have something she wants. The Wife of Bath was the first desperate housewife. The Wife of Bath
represents the common housewife as well as the commoner’s need for extravagance. During the time,
commoners fantasized about the life of royalty; the Wife of Bath personifies this.

The Miller

The Miller fulfills the role in the story of the world-weary working man. He is a drunk and an oaf, ripping
doors off of their hinges and verbally assaulting the narrator, the knight and the Wife of Bath
extensively. He is also a lusty man, pining after the Wife of Bath, as well as the Prioress, one of the other
females leads in the stories. He is something of the comic relief in the story, interrupting the tales of the
narrator and breaking the fourth wall on several occasions. The Miller is the hard-working man. He is the
common man trying his best to make his way in life. However, with hard-working commonality, he is
also prone to the pitfalls of humankind—primarily, drunkenness and lust.

The Prioress

The chaste and refined woman of purity and love, the prioress is far more than what she tries to appear.
Unlike the common thought of what a mother superior was supposed to be in the 14th century, the
Prioress was a vain and gossiping woman with a tendency to stretch the truth to her will. She and the
Wife of Bath are the two female lead characters in the story—both of which are the center of many
men’s affections in the stories. Though she tried to appear deliberate and holy, the Prioress is much
messier under the skin. It is debatable that Chaucer wanted her to represent the church as a whole—
being consecrated on the outside, but just as dirty underneath as anyone else. Like the Pardoner, the
Prioress represents a corruption of the church. She looks chaste and good, but, under the surface, she is
as disgusting as any sinner.

The Friar

A roaming priest with no home church and no particular allegiance to any of the other characters in the
story, the Friar readily befriends everyone that he meets. He particularly likes young women and rich
men who can cater to what he needs or wants in the story. However, the narrator tells readers that he is
highly susceptible to bribes, once again cluing the reader in on the fact that Chaucer was not necessarily
the biggest supporter of the church of the 14th century due to corruption and money mongering. Like
the prioress and the Pardoner, the Friar is a religious mercenary, less concerned with love and kindness
than he is with personal prosperity. He further enhances Chaucer’s political outcry against the religious
system of the day.

Focus on These Characters

Though the stories of the Canterbury Tales boast many more characters, these characters are the most
intertwined and relevant to the story as a whole. Chaucer displays many themes in the stories, which
are personified by these characters’ traits, desires, and flaws.
References

https://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/webcore/murphy/canterbury/ https://
www.canterburytales.org/canterbury_tales.html Image courtesy of  Wikimedia Commons

Examples of Literary Conflict in “The Miller’s Tale”

Types of Literary Conflict Graphic Organizer

MAN vs. MAN

Absolon decides to take his revenge on Alisoun for sticking her rear end out of the window, instead of
her mouth, for him to kiss. He goes to get a hot poker.

MAN vs. SELF

Alisoun is reluctant to begin cheating on her husband, John, with Nicholas, at first.

MAN vs. SOCIETY

After being made a cuckold by Alisoun and Nicholas and falling for the “second flood” scheme, John is
mocked by his neighbors, townspeople, and Alisoun and Nicholas for his naivety and foolishness.

 The General Prologue is, arguably, the most familiar part of the Canterbury Tales. It frames the
longer story collection by setting the season, describing the pilgrims who will narrate the tales,
and laying the ground rules of the storytelling contest. Beside and within these portraits of
professional figures from Chaucer’s late medieval English society,
 the Prologue witnesses traffic among places, languages, and cultures as well as between the
religious and the secular. Introducing the Canterbury Tales, the General Prologue produces a
collaboration of strangers, a “compaignye” of pilgrims whose tales cooperate, conflict, and
compete for attention.