The Canterbury Tales served as a moral manual in the Middle Ages. In the stories, Geoffrey Chaucer depicts the problems of society. For example, Chaucer uses the monk and friar in relation to the pastor to show what the ecclesiastical class does in relation to what they are supposed to do. In other words, it's about raising awareness about these issues. It can be inferred that the main aim of the author is for this literary work to serve as a message to the people while changing society regarding these issues. The author discusses several social issues, including the way women are treated. Regarding the role of women in society, the Middle Ages was also considered a patriarchal society, which is why in the tales the author describes the resulting inequality. Despite what many might think based on his writings, Chaucer is not a misogynist. Chaucer only shows the perception of women in his society with an indication of his feminist views as well. Looking back throughout history, women and men have been treated differently. At the time, there was a widespread belief that men were superior to women. Aristotle, for example, “assumed that male domination was the rule in all natural species” (Rigby). Thanks to the words of this Greek philosopher, people also believed in this idea. Of course, men are physically superior to women, but this is not the only case linked to this idea of ​​predominance. Many believed that men were “morally, intellectually and physically” superior to women (Rigby). SH Rigby is a history professor who has explored many texts to support the idea of ​​this gender superiority. Aristotle was just one example of textual evidence throughout time; another comes from the Bible itself. In G...... middle of paper ......showing the causes and effects of inequality in his society. Chaucer focuses on this problem and how it should be solved. Her literary work made people realize that women deserve to have rights too. Thanks to Geoffrey Chaucer, women found the motivation to fight for their rights. To this day, The Canterbury Tales is still one of the literary works that defend women's rights. Works Cited Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. New York: Dover Publications, 1994. Print. Leicester, H. Marshall, Jr. "A Fire in the Dark: Public and Private Feminism in the Wife of Bath's Tale." » Women's Studies 11.1-2 (1984): 157-178. Literary Resource Center. Internet. March 1, 2014. Rigby, SH “Misogynist versus Feminist Chaucer.” » Chaucer in context: society, allegory and gender. Manchester University Press, 1996. 116-163. Literary Resource Center. Internet. March 1 2014.