The Physician's Tale Essay

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Chaucer also stretches this theme seen in The Miller into The Doctor’s prologue. In general, Doctor’s are viewed a good, moral,

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These doctors, also known as physicians (see Appendix A), treated many disease and injuries one had, but not for a cheap price. Thus these physicians were reserved for the wealthy, resulting in some physicians to give false information just for money.

My brother is also a physician, and also of high standing, and he says the same thing” (Pg. 648, Line 1-9). Jane husband in the book of “The Yellow Wallpaper” as him being a Physician made him feel he was right in everything. He was portrayed as a know it all and told Jane when who can visit and what to do. “John says if I don't pick up faster he shall send me to Weir Mitchell in the fall” (Pg. 650, Line 73-74).

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Each character in The Canterbury Tales has their own effect on the story. They add diversity and personality. While the Doctor may not have had the longest section or most detailed description, but his impact is undeniable. The Doctor adds another layer to the people who are going on this trip. The Doctor is hugely important to this story because he highlights the difference in religion, intelligence, and morals amongst the travelers.

The Medieval Period in history brought along scores of fables about everything from knights engaging in courtly love to corruption in the Catholic Church. The Canterbury Tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer expertly encapsulates many of the great motifs of the era. The Tales are a series of stories and descriptions of characters of all social classes that were composed in the late 1300’s. Chaucer utilizes a multitude of literary techniques to convey his personal views of people, and ultimately, what they represent in society. The author uses such devices when depicting two morally contrasting characters, the Parson and the Summoner, that are documented in the Prologue.

Geoffrey Chaucer’s collection of stories known as The Canterbury Tales portrays the Doctor, a well-educated pilgrim from the Third Estate, as morally ambiguous since his actions are neither righteous nor corrupt. This morally ambiguous character contains elements of both good and evil. First, Chaucer describes the good morality of the Doctor by depicting him as “a perfect practising physician” (14). For example, the Doctor’s moral goodness is evident in the way he takes care of himself because “in his own diet he observed some measure;/ There were no superfluities for pleasure, / Only digestives, nutritives and such” (14). Unlike the other pilgrims, the Doctor is not subjective to gluttony and stays healthy by avoiding indulgences and watching his diet. Additionally, the Doctor would “[watch] his

The last type of physician called the magician-physician, was not trained in medicine and only used spells to cure the ill. This signifies that although the