Throughout the centuries, the story of original sin has been used to explain the struggles of women and why they are inferior to men. Eve “took of the fruit [of the forbidden tree] and ate” (Genesis 3:6), and as punishment, God caused “[her husband] to reign over her” (3:16). As an important text during the lives of the characters who tell the collection of stories that make up the Canterbury Tales, most pilgrims were familiar with this scripture and believed that the word of the Bible was law. For this reason, the popular belief of the time was that women were inferior to their male counterparts. However, a couple of characters in the stories challenge this view and show that women were also capable of making their own choices. As the pilgrims wrestle with the question of where women belong, their view of Eve in the story of original sin is also changed. From mild indifference to intimate involvement, each pilgrim has a different attachment to Eve's story, and their views on women in society are reflected in their connection to the story. The Monk tells the story of Adam and his fall from God's grace in his series of tragedies, but Eve is noticeably absent compared to references to her in the other tales. The monk describes Adam's expulsion from the garden as “Like Adam, till he for my rule/ Was vexed by hys hye prosperitee/ To work, and to hell, and to meschaunce” (2012-2014). The Monk could have easily attributed the reason for the original sin to Eve, but instead tells the story with Adam as the subject of the tragedy. In doing so, the Monk is either arguing that only when Adam ate the fruit did original sin occur and that Eve's actions were irrelevant, or that it is too bla...... middle of paper... ...quotes of Eve vary. The story of Eve may be written very simply in the Bible, but the way pilgrims interact with the Scriptures causes the direct account to take on more diverse interpretations. Works Cited Chaucer, Geoffrey. "The Wife of Bath's Prologue." The Canterbury Tales. Ed. Larry D. Benson. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2000. 87-98.Dinshaw, Carolyn. Chaucer's sexual poetics. University of Wisconsin Press, 1989. Print.Hansen, Elaine Tuttle. Chaucer and genre fictions. Los Angelos, CA: University of California Press, 1992. Print. The New Oxford Annotated Bible. Herbert G. May and Bruce M. Metzger, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1957. Weisl, Angela Jane. ""Stop "Eve: Violence Against Women in the Canterbury Tales." Violence against women in medieval texts. Ed. Anna Roberts. University of Florida Press, 1998. Print.