comparison paper.doc
the following is the result of procrastination, sleep deprevation, and constipation.
Brett McDaniel
English 3
Mr. Saunders
3/24/04
The Wife of Bath is the most controversial character in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. During her quest to Canterbury, she tells a tale which proves to make even those male characters who exhibit moral turpitude uncomfortable with the way her philosophy clashes with that of the time’s popular image of a submissive woman, dependant on male dominance. A widow to five men, she prides herself on a philosophy that “experience” will guide her through life. This, along with her pathetic attempts to quote scriptures to back up her ideals, is a mere excuse she uses to justify her insatiable appetite for sex, as seen in the numerous ways she contradicts herself. For example, she professes to be a devout Christian, while at the same time she speaks candidly about how she has used sex as a tool to acquire her husbands’ money. Furthermore, she confesses that she only truly loved the last of the five. This contradiction of Christian morals versus obscene actions is similarly exhibited by Bartleby and Loki, the corrupt angels of Kevin Smith’s 1999 movie Dogma.
Just like Wife of Bath, Bartleby and Loki are found on a religious pilgrimage, however a different much one. Instead, they are journeying to a Catholic church in New Jersey in hopes to exploit a loophole in Christian Dogma, which may allow them to return to Heaven, from where they were banished thousands of years ago. They, too use the Bible to justify many of their actions, but fail to meet the criteria of decent Christians. The most obvious way they make this mistake is by initiating a killing spree, which they claim is in the name of God. This contradicts itself in two ways. Firstly, to kill any human is to disobey the sixth commandment, which states, “Thou shall not kill”. Secondly, to judge whether a human deserves to die is to assume God’s work for oneself.
Another element of Bartleby and Loki’s character that corresponds to the Wife of Bath’s is that they must sacrifice their position as angels to return to Heaven, which they willingly do by cutting off their wings, thus making them human. This is much like the way that the Wife of Bath willingly forfeits a different kind of virtue, her sexual intrigue, by giving up her body whenever she needs something from a man. While this is not necessary for her quest, it does follow her philosophy that experience is the best teacher.
To conclude the above points, it must be acknowledged that even though the Wife of Bath is more passive about her religious apathy, Bartleby and Loki are far more malicious in their error. The consequence of their success is that human existence will be erased, and this does not stop them. That said, the most fundamental difference between the Wife of Bath and Bartleby and Loki is that the Wife of Bath means no harm to anyone but herself. In her vulgarity, she threatens no fate but her own. The angels however, set out on a mission in which they put their own interests ahead of human life, as we know it.
<33.
Brett McDaniel
English 3
Mr. Saunders
3/24/04
The Wife of Bath is the most controversial character in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. During her quest to Canterbury, she tells a tale which proves to make even those male characters who exhibit moral turpitude uncomfortable with the way her philosophy clashes with that of the time’s popular image of a submissive woman, dependant on male dominance. A widow to five men, she prides herself on a philosophy that “experience” will guide her through life. This, along with her pathetic attempts to quote scriptures to back up her ideals, is a mere excuse she uses to justify her insatiable appetite for sex, as seen in the numerous ways she contradicts herself. For example, she professes to be a devout Christian, while at the same time she speaks candidly about how she has used sex as a tool to acquire her husbands’ money. Furthermore, she confesses that she only truly loved the last of the five. This contradiction of Christian morals versus obscene actions is similarly exhibited by Bartleby and Loki, the corrupt angels of Kevin Smith’s 1999 movie Dogma.
Just like Wife of Bath, Bartleby and Loki are found on a religious pilgrimage, however a different much one. Instead, they are journeying to a Catholic church in New Jersey in hopes to exploit a loophole in Christian Dogma, which may allow them to return to Heaven, from where they were banished thousands of years ago. They, too use the Bible to justify many of their actions, but fail to meet the criteria of decent Christians. The most obvious way they make this mistake is by initiating a killing spree, which they claim is in the name of God. This contradicts itself in two ways. Firstly, to kill any human is to disobey the sixth commandment, which states, “Thou shall not kill”. Secondly, to judge whether a human deserves to die is to assume God’s work for oneself.
Another element of Bartleby and Loki’s character that corresponds to the Wife of Bath’s is that they must sacrifice their position as angels to return to Heaven, which they willingly do by cutting off their wings, thus making them human. This is much like the way that the Wife of Bath willingly forfeits a different kind of virtue, her sexual intrigue, by giving up her body whenever she needs something from a man. While this is not necessary for her quest, it does follow her philosophy that experience is the best teacher.
To conclude the above points, it must be acknowledged that even though the Wife of Bath is more passive about her religious apathy, Bartleby and Loki are far more malicious in their error. The consequence of their success is that human existence will be erased, and this does not stop them. That said, the most fundamental difference between the Wife of Bath and Bartleby and Loki is that the Wife of Bath means no harm to anyone but herself. In her vulgarity, she threatens no fate but her own. The angels however, set out on a mission in which they put their own interests ahead of human life, as we know it.
<33.