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What is Chaucer's attitude toward the Nun in the Prologue from The Canterbury Tales?

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Final answer:

Chaucer portrays the Nun in the Prologue as concerned with social manners and appearance, indicating a satirical and critical view of her superficial religiosity and vanity.

Step-by-step explanation:

Geoffrey Chaucer's attitude toward the Nun in the Prologue from The Canterbury Tales can be viewed as satirical and somewhat critical.

Chaucer provides a portrait of the Nun as someone who aspires to have courtly manners and to appear elegant, but who also misses the mark of true religious devotion.

His descriptions of her concern with etiquette, such as her meticulous ways of eating without spilling a drop, and her sympathetic feelings for animals reveal her worldly priorities.

The Nun's portrayal as overly concerned with her social appearance, rather than spiritual depth, indicates Chaucer's critique of corruption and superficial religiosity within the Church.

his is further exemplified by the Nun's vanity, shown in her attention to fashion and her attempts to speak French, which she was not very proficient in, as Chaucer notes it was not the French of Paris.

Through the Nun, Chaucer illustrates the gap between one's appearance and one's true nature, a theme that recurs throughout the tales with various characters.

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