The fact that the Prioress starts the tale with extoling the Virgin Mary demonstrates that one should always sing praise of religious figures and be willing to admit to their fault. Some have suggested that the Prioress' upper class etiquette suggests that she was a daughter of a noble family who was sent to a nunnery when she was unable to get married. The story also serves as a reminder that one should be careful of what they say and who they say it in front of. Here the narrator focuses most of his description on the Prioress' table manners rather than traits of her religious devotion. In conclusion, the danger of speaking and the repercussions that words / language have is a theme of the Prioress’ tale. The child is portrayed as an innocent, unsuspecting victim that suffers at the hands of Jews. They find it belligerent and put an end to it. The child is ever so eager to sing and so he is punished by the Jews because of his desire.

And then not surprisingly, it is the song that leads the mother to the body of the child. Also it is the song itself that offends the Jews and makes them commit their heinous crime. It is the singing that leads the child to the song and then to learn the words. What’s also interesting is the importance of the song and just the overall performance of it. She makes it a point to mention that Mary is the “whitest lily flower” and makes it known that the tale will be about the divine power and goodness of the Virgin Mary. It’s no wonder that her prologue to the tale is a hymn of praise of the Virgin Mary. It is left up to the reader to decide if it’s supposed to be an outdated tale of anti-Semitism or a juxtaposition of the Prioress’ character and the angelic seven years old child. Geoffrey Chaucer was born between the years 1340-1345, the son of John and Agnes (de Copton) Chaucer. The tale she decides to tell is one full of anti-Semitism, murder and the overall miracle of the Virgin Mary.

She has great table manners and even dresses well. The Prioress is depicted as a modest and dainty woman.

The prioress geoffrey chaucer