The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer is a collection of stories told by a group of pilgrims on their way to Thomas a' Becket's tomb in Canterbury. Throughout the stories, women are often portrayed in two opposing ways. The women in these tales are either depicted as pristine and virginal, or as cunning and deceitful. First, women are described as being pristine and virginal. This type of woman is always beautiful and has men vying …showed first 75 words of 1662 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1662 total…to be the worst of all the women portrayed in The Canterbury Tales. In conclusion, throughout The Canterbury Tales there is a dual depiction of women. Throughout the tales of the Knight, the Miller, the Merchant, and in the entire character of the Wife of Bath,the women are shown to be extremely pristine and virginal, or extremely cunning and deceiving. The women are either depicted as completely pure or completely wicked without an in-between.