What Makes a Person Good?
Instructions
Passing over the fact that his new wife is old and ugly, the unnamed knight refuses to have sex with her on their wedding night because she is poor, i.e., not a member of the noble class, on the presumption that God must be punishing her for some sin by not blessing her with wealth. This is how she responds:
“Just now,” she said, “you spoke of gentle birth, Such as descends from ancient wealth and worth.
If that’s the claim you make for gentlemen, Such arrogance is hardly worth a hen.
Whoever loves to work for virtuous ends, Public and private, and who most intends
To do what deeds of nobility he can, Take him to be the greatest gentleman.
Christ wills we take our virtue from Him, Not from a wealth of ancestry long dim…
Our fathers cannot pass down to us All those things that made them virtuous
And earned for them the name of ‘gentlemen,' But taught us to follow them as best we can.”
(lines 285 – 300)
What point is the old woman trying to make about what makes a person good? Why do you think this speech matters in the context of this story? Think about what the knight himself has done in this story and consider the hypocrisy of his claim that wealthy, “high-born” people are naturally morally better than poor people.
(minimum: 100 words for 3/5 points, 200 words for 5/5 points)
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Reading Response #10
The older woman is highlighting different aspects that usually make a person good. She highlights that a good person is a gentleman and not arrogant to any individual. Another feature she focuses on is an individual willing to work without being coerced. The other aspect that she highlights is the individual ready to perform noble actions since the person's actions show who the person is.
The context of this story shows that speech matters.