Prioress Tale

The Prioress tells a tale set in an Asian town dominated by the Jews in which usury and other things hateful to Christ occurred. The Christian minority in the town opened a school for their children in this city. Among these children was a widow's son, an angelic seven year old that was, even at his young age, deeply devoted to his faith. At school he learned a song in Latin, the Alma redemptoris, and …

…describes the Prioress as sympathetic emotional woman who would weep over the death of a small mouse. She can extend her sympathy to small children and other easy targets, but cannot find room for true mercy or compassion. Although it would be a mistake to consider the tale as a blatant attack on anti-Semitism, for it would project modern liberal sensibilities into Chaucer's work, the tale certainly condemns the Prioress for her cheap emotional responsiveness.