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The Reeve's Tale Analysis

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“Forbid us something, and that thing we desire; but press it on us hard, and we will flee”-Geoffrey Chaucer. The Reeve’s Tale by Chaucer is mainly constructed of instrumentality, and feminist theory. What is perceived from the text is the theme of revenge, and retaliation, as well as the usage of violability, phallocentric theory, and feminists’ criticism to further the tension because of the emphasis on the students, and how they differ from the family as well as the Miller. The students for example, differ from the family due to their wealth of knowledge, and their experience. Experiences such as, being on their own, making decisions, and becoming something other than students. Chaucer also uses phallocentric focus throughout the poem to keep it as deeply entrenched as its genre--entertaining and strong topics. In this poem, subjectivity is mainly focused on the women, and how they are subjective to the will of the men. We get Symkin’s feelings and thoughts about certain things and how he finds that the students aren’t smart enough to outsmart him, and we also get Alayn and John’s thoughts and feelings all throughout the story. What we don’t get is the women’s thoughts and feelings. The only time we hear Malenye’s voice is when she betrays her dad to Alayn, and due to the women who are so undermined in …show more content…

The tension rose from the beginning to the end, until the finale where the students achieved their goal of getting what was stole from them and others, and the ultimate theme of revenge and retaliation flows throughout the story as easily as the theme of assault. The students both wanted to avenge the wrongdoings that they faced, as well as the many others from the selfishness of the Miller. In the way of achieving this not only did they rape Malenye, but they also required the goods that they wanted and the virginity and manipulation of the Miller’s

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