Both in Chaucer's "Prologue and Tale of the Wife of Bath" and in Sheridan's "The Rivals", the question of morality does not it's a simple one, as there is tension around the purpose of marriage and traditional social expectations. However, Chaucer's exploration of passion and the possibility that lust and virtue can coexist is far more controversial than Sheridan's, which in true Georgian style, only slightly challenges contemporary attitudes towards morality. In both works, the sense of resolution is limited and slightly ambiguous as the audience is left uncertain whether the writers promote virtue over passion or simply reject their protagonists' efforts due to the inevitability of male authority in the social hierarchy. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In the "Prologue of the Wife of Bath" Chaucer describes Alisoun as an ardent temptress whose controversial prospect of marriage strongly challenges medieval attitudes towards virtue and piety. This lascivious portrayal of Alisoun would have been deeply unpleasant to a medieval audience who would have valued virtuous living and the avoidance of sin above all elements of Christian teaching. Therefore, Chaucer's Alisoun would have been a completely indecent figure, since for a medieval audience the coexistence of lust and Christian values ​​would probably be impossible. Throughout the novel, Chaucer presents Alisoun as an immoral figure by contemporary standards as he not only chooses to reject the Church's authority over marriage, but instead uses this same authority to justify his own lustful nature. His controversial view on marriage is presented through Chaucer's exploration of the "trouble that is in marriage", whereby the "trouble" seen by Alisoun differs from that of the clergy. For the Church, the "trouble" in marriage is the sexual act which, despite its function as a religious sacrament, was perceived by the clergy as a dirty act that distances a person from God. Alisoun recognizes that "virginitee" is a state" parfit,” yet he chooses to enjoy his promiscuity since he “does not envy any virginitee.” However, Alisoun is not an adulteress, and therefore her immorality does not arise from the fact that she has sexual relations with her "five housboundes", but from the fact that she has manipulated the authority of the Church to satisfy her sexual desires and remains evidently childless in the process, while acknowledging that "God has enjoined us to increase and multiply." The irony of this statement clearly shows that Alisoun is actually aware that she is not virtuous since the only way she can justify promiscuity is by using the patriarchal system. Thus, despite the fact that some feminist critics would label the Wife an "anti-patriarchal hero" (Susan Gubar), she ironically reinforces the negative medieval attitudes of the time. Chaucer immediately highlights Alisoun's misunderstood perspective on the "trouble in marriage." ", which suggests that the sexual act in marriage, although frowned upon by the clergy, despite being necessary for pregnancy. While a more modern audience would perhaps be more tolerant of Alisoun's reasoning due to more liberal attitudes associated with free love, Chaucer's presentation of her is far from virtuous in keeping with the conservative attitudes of the time when she was immoral, as she remains conspicuously childless, despite her confident assertion that "God has enjoined us to grow up and multiply". Therefore, while for the clergy the "trouble in marriage" isassociated with immorality, for Alisoun it marks the exact opposite, the idea that she is devoid of maistree (power), and is subjected to the restrictions imposed by patriarchal society. While in `The Wife of Bath's Tale and Prologue', the Wife's opinions are labeled as immoral. In Sheridan's "The Rivals", the references to sex in marriage are much more implicit, as the characters labeled as immoral are those who pose some sort of challenge to the social expectations of the moment. Lydia is the epitome of virginal purity to the "love-breathing seventeen" as opposed to the "gap-toothed" Alisoun, yet her passion lies in the pursuit of knowledge, as she languishes in her bedroom reading lyrics such as " The Delicate Distress" and "The Innocent Adulterer", an absolutely indecent French novel frowned upon by the Georgian public. Here, passion is not necessarily associated with sex, yet the stigma associated with the desire for female education in the play is viewed with the same disgust as Alisoun's promiscuity in the "Prologue of the Wife of Bath". Both writers therefore escape the fact that passion, be it physical or in the form of female education, cannot coexist with virtue since virtue can only exist when there is social conformity. Sheridan presents this idea through dialogue between the play's older generation, Sir Anthony and Mrs Malaprop, who although not exempt from Sheridan's criticisms, firmly believe that "learning does not belong to a woman" and that a "library circulating" will. causes Lydia to "desire the fruit" of the "tree of devilish knowledge." Sir Anthony's fiery attack on female education, coupled with references to Eve's role in the fall of man in Genesis, suggests that passion is sinful. Chaucer also refers to the Fall of Man in the Prologue when Alisoun speaks of the "wikkednesse of Eve". Although these texts were written and published in different centuries, it is evident that religion has always and will continue to underpin the general perception of passion and lust in society. largely associated with immorality. On the other hand, while Chaucer's representation of Alisoun's reasoning is flawed, his values ​​presented in the Prologue are to some extent well justified. With the medieval male lens that we would expect to condition his view of women as naturally inferior to men, Chaucer seems to criticize the unjust nature of patriarchy. For example, Chaucer proposes the idea that wealth and social status do not necessarily equate to chivalric code of conduct or "gentillesse". The Knight in the Prologue uses his strength to "raft" the girl's "maidenhed" (virginitee) to the riverbank. Chaucer consequently places the Knight's fate in the hands of the Queen, thus reversing the idea of ​​the male maistree since "the queen, at her will" chose "whether she would save him or overthrow him." Therefore, while Alisoun is largely the subject of criticism in the Prologue, Chaucer also highlights the immorality of men. It appears that although wealth and social status can be acquired through the "lineage" of a "gentile house", the gentillesse is not "naturally planted" as a true "family". gentil" is one who "does gentil dedis." Therefore, despite Alisoun's "immorality", it is clear that his attitudes towards chivalry are commendable. This idea is supported by feminist critics such as Jackie Shead who noted that " The research and its result are a salutary lesson for males in how not to dominate women." Indeed, Chaucer is evidently not a feminist in the same way that a modern audience would perceive him as such, yet he invites the audience to ask themselves what means to be moral or immoral..