Society has changed in many ways over time, but one thing that has not changed at all is the way young people are viewed. Society past and present has always seen age as something to be treasured but objectified, and this view is especially seen in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The theme of youth being equal to beauty is reflected in the Canterbury Tales.

Objectification because of youth is first seen through the example of a young, 18-year-old bride who is wed to an old carpenter. The idea of youth being desirable can be seen even in old societies, as reflected in “The Miller’s Tale”, where “Jealous [the carpenter] was, and kept her closely caged, // For she was wild and young, and he was old // And he feared he could become a cuckold” (Chaucer, 203, 116-118). The objectification of the young girl is seen in the phrasing “closely caged”, since in society only animals or objects have really been caged, and not people. Her caging is rationalized because of her age since she is “wild and young”. Youth is equated to wildness here, and with this wildness comes the reasoning that she cannot be trusted in case she cheats on the carpenter. He is also jealous because her youth means that she is desirable, and others would find themselves attracted to her. His jealousy is similar to that of a young child not wanting their toy taken away, another way that her youth and beauty turn her into an object in the eyes of society. The fear of her cheating, however, only exists because of the age difference between the two, since she was was young and “he was old”. His fear that “he could become a cuckold” is only because of his age, which then reflects the idea that aging is not desirable since his old age means that he is less appealing. Though society would like to think it has changed, we still objectify those of youth to a certain degree through beauty magazines and advertisements, where their youth is equated to beauty, a vaunted feature.

No matter how much society would like to think it has changed, youth will always be more desirable than old age, as reflected in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. There is a reason that young people are kidnapped and baited through the internet and other means, and it is because it is young people that are desirable, not those who are older. One can only wonder if humanity will ever change itself, and move past its shallowness and realize that youth and beauty are not everything.

Sources

Chaucer, Geoffrey, and Sheila Fisher. The Selected Canterbury Tales: a New Verse Translation. W.W. Norton & Co., 2012.

Purdue Writing Lab. “OWL // Purdue Writing Lab.” Purdue Writing Lab, owl.purdue.edu/.