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Annaliese See
Mr. Moio
English 12
1 December 2022
Canterbury Tales Final
Not many people are familiar with the seven deadly sins in modern society, with them
being more prominently known during the thirteenth and fourteenth century. In Western
Christain heritage, the seven deadly sins are defined as “an offense against God and God’s laws
perpetrated by an individual”. Under the notation of social justice in America, the seven deadly
sins appear as forms of oppression. As society progresses they will disintegrate, but currently
Racism, Ableism, Sexism, Ageism, Heterosexism, Classim, Bigotry, are primarily large problems
in our society, differentiating from the Christain’s deadly sins: Pride, Covetousness, Lust, Anger,
Gluttony, Ency, and Sloth. In The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, the seven deadly sins
are almost as concrete as laws with the characters being more aware of their morals than those in
present society. Although a person should live by the seven deadly sins for their own morality to
be preserved, society as a whole more realistically tends to follow their own rules, disregarding
the deadly sins. Not following such increases problems within society, as well as people losing
their values.
The Canterbury Tales is a story of pilgrims’ travel, to and from Canterbury. The first sin,
pride, can be defined as an excessive love of our own ability…, begetting in our souls of sinful
ambition, vainglory, presumption, and hypocrisy, according to Devin Foley in The Seven Deadly
Sins: Then & Now. The Friar makes a living for himself by begging others, specifically by
spreading the word of God. He portrays that he is more focused on his own needs and wealth,
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rather than spreading the God’s message. The Friar’s social priorities surround drinking in
taverns, rather than spending his time giving to the poor: “He knew the tavernes wel in every
toun- And everich hostiler and tappestere- Bet than a lazar or a beggestere”, (Prologue. II. 208271). In regards to being realistic, today and years ago, members of the church were and are
required to follow specific rules regarding their own beliefs, which is absolutely viable.
Although this does not mean that those within the church will abide by them, most do. This
poses a question for society: not everyone is religious, so should we be expected to follow such
beliefs? It alternates with perspective, and when push comes to shove, people will do as they
please, with some following their morals, while others disregard them.
If the entirety of society were to revolve around the seven deadly sins, people would not
be inclined to use freedom of speech, which is highly looked upon and valued in America.
Furthermore, the seven deadly sins were prominent before the Constitution, which if they were to
be followed today, the idea would not be close to realistic. Modernly, lust is normalized, whereas
people tend to confuse lust and love. In The Canterbury Tales, marriage is highly important in a
variety of the tales. The tales highlight how human nature struggles with lust, with Arcite and
Palamon being reunited, as well as “a hundred knights… well armed… to fight for a lady”, of
whom has no interest in them (1241-1245). Ultimately, Arcite dies in the battle, with others
risking their life, all in desire for a woman. Although in modern society, lust does not lead to
such great extents, it is a large problem. Within the story, many look for fulfillment of their
deepest problems through lust, which ultimately does not result in anything beneficial.
Additionally, in The Wife of Bath’s Tale, Alison uses her body to gain financial benefits from
men, and believes that through multiple marriages, though heavily forbidden, her sexual desires
will be fulfilled. “I am free to wed, in God’s name, where it pleases me. He says that to be
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wedded is no sin… I know well Abraham was a holy man, and Jacob, too, as far as know I can;
And each of them had spouses more than two…”, (Wife of Bath’s Tale, Prologue 173).
Moreover, she seeks satisfaction from others other than her husband, with her views going
against church beliefs, portraying a view of lust on marriage. In this century, polygamy is
considered normal to many, in contrast with the modern church’s morals. In essence, each
individual has their own values and beliefs that they will face deep down over a span of time.
Speaking within society, the views of lust differ, with more people than not believing that it is
their body, and as a result, they can do what they want with it. This is contrary to the belief of the
church, of which solely religious individuals follow. Realistically, humans have desires, and it is
difficult to come into opposition with such, therefore it is not easy to abide by such beliefs.
Morally, a person can do what they want, as it differs from person to person. If society were to
be primarily based upon the church’s view of lust, evidently less problems would arise, although
persons would have to battle this natural human desire daily.
Anger is an issue that many individuals struggle with throughout their lifetime, both
aware and unaware. Devin Foley defines anger as “... an excessive emotion of the mind excited
against any person or thing, or it is an excessive desire for revenge … Anger begets in our souls
impatience, hatred, irreverence, and too often the habit of cursing”. Characters and pilgrims in
The Canterbury Tales focus on performing acts of revenge, rather than simply attempting to
solve the problem. In The Wife of Bath’s Prologue, her fifth husband abuses her, and at one
point, she explained that “he smote me on the head… And down I fell upon the floor for dead”,
(Chaucer 279). When she woke up she rose to “smote him on the cheek” (Chaucer 280) and he
promised to never hit her again. Today, if domestic abuse were to be reported, charges would
most likely be pressed, and the individual punished so that it would not occur to another human.
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In the era of this tale, women were expected to deal with such misfortunes, with no persecution
of the abuser. Additionally, society was not as advanced as it is today, which is one of the pros
that we have today. Chaucer describes anger as: “...a ful greet plesaunce to the devel; for it is the
develes fourneys, that is eschawfed with the fir of helle. For certes, right so as fir is moore
mighty to destroyen erthely thynges than any oother element, right so Ire is myghty to destroyen
alle spiritueel thynges” (The Parson's Tale, Chaucer, paragraph 36). In the Parson’s Tale, the
sin of anger is focused around how the devil correlates with such, being rooted in the church. As
a modern society, people are quick to anger, with little to no consequence, unless it is to be
grave. A person should absolutely attempt to limit their anger, as there will be more control over
themself and a less negative outcome, but individuals have the tendency to not think about it,
moving past. In the thirteenth to fourteenth century, acts of anger were highly frowned upon,
specifically religiously, but today, everyone appears to be angry quite often, with no negative
results. If society were to be grounded upon limiting anger, there would be less issues in the legal
system, as well as a lesser amount of people battling their thoughts and actions. Realistically, it is
difficult to limit anger, though larger actions of it can be easily controlled.
As society progresses, it can not be easily predicted whether the seven deadly sins will
become more prominent, or barely touched upon. In The Canterbury Tales, the seven deadly sins
were followed by the majority of people, as religion was more important than it is today.
Realistically, some of the seven deadly sins would be a joke to many individuals within society,
though a variety of them deal with deep morals, which are evidently not prominent currently. If
society were to be grounded upon the seven deadly sins, lesser issues would arise, but perhaps
not as much freedom and individuality. If a person regarded the seven deadly sins as a major
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importance to themselves, better outcomes would occur daily, as well as a decrease in moral
battles.