Read the excerpt from the General Prolgue to the Canterbury Tales. There was also a nun, a prioress, Whose smile was unaffected
and demure; Her greatest oath was just, "By St. Eloi!” And she was known as Madame Eglantine. She sang the divine service prettily, And through the nose, becomingly intoned; And she spoke French well and elegantly As she’d been taught it at Stratford-at-Bow, For French of Paris was to her unknown. Good table manners she had learnt as well: She never let a crumb from her mouth fall; She never soiled her fingers, dipping deep Into the sauce; when lifting to her lips Some morsel, she was careful not to spill So much as one small drop upon her breast. Her greatest pleasure was in etiquette. Based on this description of the nun, what conclusion can be drawn about the narrator? The narrator does not care for the nun. The narrator has great admiration for the nun. The narrator feels superior to the nun. The narrator wants the nun to leave the group.
The correct answer is: The narrator has great admiration for the nun.
Chaucer admires the character of the Nun because she is a woman who is not what she is expected to be. Instead of caring about charity and prayer, she acts like a lady. The nun shows the others the person she desires to be instead of showing her reality. She spends her days concerned about her manners and appearance.
