The Canterbury Tales: The Clerk's Tale Theme of Family

Family: can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. If you're Walter, this is.

So, what can actually get handed down in families? Genes? Clothes? Grandma's recipe for potato chip casserole? How about gentility? The "Clerk's Tale" is totally into figuring out to what extent gentility is entrenched in your blood. Walter's nobles have sworn allegiance to a particular family, and it's this bloodline they want Walter to continue by marrying and producing an heir. While they seem to think that gentility is transmitted by blood, Walter defies their expectations by marrying a poor woman, claiming that gentility comes only from God.

Another aspect of family that the "Clerk's Tale" explores is the bonds it produces among its members, with Grisilde's obvious attachment to her children standing in contrast to Walter's refusal to acknowledge them as his own... and, you know, his eventual separation of the entire family. The ending of the tale, in which the entire family is reunited, represents a triumph not only for Walter's family, but also for the vassals who are intimately concerned with this family's welfare.

1. Why is the welfare of Walter's family so important to his vassals and townspeople? How do they express their concern throughout the tale?
2. What changes do Grisilde's body and appearance undergo when she becomes Walter's wife? What does this transformation imply about the connection between blood and gentility?
3. How does Grisilde demonstrate her attachment to her children? What purpose does this attachment serve for the larger concerns of the "Clerk's Tale," particularly its portrayal of Grisilde?

The "Clerk's Tale" represents family attachments as bonds that must be overcome in the name of duty.

The transformation Grisilde undergoes as Walter's wife reflects the tale's point of view that gentility is not transmitted through blood but is a product of circumstances.