Perhaps no medieval literary work is as rich in the concept of play and play as Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The tales are framed by the very idea of ​​a game, that is to say the game of telling stories during a pilgrimage. However, the real storytelling games are those that emerge from the stories told by the pilgrims. For example, "The Miller's Tale" and "Wife of Bath's Prologue" highlight the games women play in the context of their relationships with men. The fact that the two female characters in question are both named "Alison" adds to the irony and perhaps implies that Chaucer is also playing a game with the reader. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on 'Why violent video games should not be banned'?Get the original essayThe first Alison encountered in the standard order of Bradshaw and Ellesmere's Canterbury Tales is the Alison from 'The Miller's Tale.” The attitude and strength of this character seem linked to her age, since she is described above all as “wild and yong” (117). Because she is so young and her husband, John the Carpenter, is so old and domineering, it is not surprising to the reader that she is so easily convinced to have an affair with the young employee Nicholas. While it is Nicholas who makes the first advances, Alison actively participates in the affair, and participates in the plot to deceive her husband: "Nicholas and Alisoun / It was agreed to this conclusion, / That Nicholas will shape them as he pleases” (293-95). Besides hinting that Alison is enjoying the affair, this is the reader's first real clue to how active a participant Alison will be in the upcoming game of deception. Her real "play" arrives shortly after, when the other lovestruck employee, Absolon, asks to see her. She responds harshly, cursing him and his request in the name of twenty devils (605), then has the idea of ​​tricking him into kissing her "naked" (626). It's also important to note that Alison is the only one not punished for the role she plays. While Nicholas ends up burned, John breaks his leg and is considered crazy, and Absolon kisses Alison's butt, Alison herself doesn't suffer at all. With this, Chaucer invites the reader to view Alison as the one who holds the power in this game. Even before the Wife of Bath's point of view is introduced, the idea that women have control in such situations has already been expressed. This idea continues with the second Alison, Bath's wife. The game introduced in the “Prologue” of Alison of Bath is the game of manipulation and deception. She clearly states that her first three husbands were "thugs in [her] hand" and that she controlled them completely (217). She led them to bring her gifts, and “were delighted when I spoke well of them,” because when she criticized them, it was “with malice” and cruelly (227-29). Above all, this Alison shows that her power of manipulation lies in her words. She praises or criticizes based on what is necessary to get what she wants. Critic Elaine Hansen comments that The Wife of Bath "sees words as strategic weapons, like sex and money, in the war between the sexes, and she describes her verbal tactics." as repayment in kind against the men in his life” (Hansen 28). This “reimbursement” through language is uniquely linked to the position of women in medieval culture. As implied in the misogynistic writings referenced by Wife of Bath's last husband, Jankin, women were largely expected to be submissive and obedient to their husbands. If a woman's temperament did not respond to., 1992.