Destiny
It is impossible to know for sure what Gods plan is for you, or what your destiny is, and this happens to be one of the main themes in The Nun’s Priest’s Tale. An example of this being a theme is shown when Chanticleer has a dream, and believes this dream is showing him his destiny. The concept of destiny is brought up again near the end of Chaucer’s poem when Chanticleer’s dream comes true and the fox captures him. The fox then tells the rest of the barnyard animals that his actions are all part of God’s Plan. He explains to them that “[He’ll] eat [Chanticleer], by [his] faith, and that anon” The fox goes on about how he is only doing this to Chanticleer because he believes it is what god willed him to do. This is an example of one of the main themes of the poem, predetermined destiny. For a good portion of the poem, the fox struggles with knowing exactly what god wants him to do. The idea of following god’s path and knowing what path that is, is shown more than once throughout the poem. There is no way for one to know exactly what god’s plan is, which we learn at the end of the poem when Chanticleer escapes the fox and possibly changes his destiny.
Feminism
Throughout Chaucer’s The Nun’s Priest’s Tale, I believe that Chanticleer represents the narrator of the poem, which after researching we discovered was the priest in the title. One main theme in The Nun’s Priest’s Tale is feminism, and this is a topic that is discussed multiple times in the course of the story. In the middle of the poem the narrator says, “Women’s counsels oft are ill to hold” when talking about lady Pertelote’s opinion about Chanticleers dreams. The narrator than explains that these slightly de-feministic words are not his own, but the roosters. The narrator claims he is not sexist, and it’s only Chanticleer that is saying these harsh things about Women. However this to me is slightly contradictory seeing as how we believe that the narrator is the priest, who Chanticleer is symbolizing. In my opinion I believe that the narrator is slightly sexist, because, being a priest, he has lived his life being controlled and surrounded by nuns. Furthermore I also believe that the narrator refuses to admit his opinions of women, and so he speaks them through the characters in his story.
Instincts
In the middle of Geoffrey Chaucer’s poem The Nun’s Priest’s Tale, the main character, Chanticleer, has a dream of his death. His first response to this dream is that it is his destiny, and he is filled with fear. His wife than tells him that he is weak to be scared, and that dreams are meaningless. After discussing it Chanticleer’s first instinct goes from fear to acceptance. He stops worrying about the dream, because of his wife’s opinion and lets his guard down. This then makes it possible for the dream to come true, and for a fox to capture Chanticleer. In my opinion, through his characters, Chaucer shows his readers that it is wise to follow your first instinct, and not let others change your mind. Just because someone says that your beliefs are nonsensical and foolish does not mean you should listen to them. If you truly believe something in your heart, then you shouldn’t let others change your mind. I think that if Chanticleer had followed his first instinct and chosen to ignore his wife, he could have potentially prevented his incident with the fox.