In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucers descriptive technique used to present the Reeve emphasized his physical characteristics as well as the success he attained in his occupation. It is evident that Chaucer gives two different perceptions of the Reeve, one perception is of his physical makeup and the other is of his success achieved in his occupation. In Chaucers introduction of the Reeve, he immediately begins with the Reeves physical makeup, as shown in this excerpt from The Canterbury Tales: His beerd was shave as neigh as evere he can;
His heer was by his eres ful round yshorn; His top was dokked lik a preest biforn; Ful longe were his legges and ful lene, Ylik a staf, ther was no calf yseene (590-594). This excerpt shows the attention to detail Chaucer selected to introduce the Reeve. Chaucer also gives the Reeve a name, which is not commonly done for most pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer announces the Reeves name in The Millers Tale, as shown in this excerpt: The Reeve looked up and shouted, Shut your trap!. . . To this the drunken Miller responded, My dear old brother Oswald, such is life…
This excerpt from The Millers Tale shows Chaucer getting very specific by connecting the Reeve with a name. This act of naming the Reeve gives evidence to support the argument that the Reeve seems to be more of a specific individual than a representative of a large class of people. After Chaucer presents the physical characteristics of the Reeve, he then describes the Reeves occupation. A reeve by definition is a minor official or superintendent on an estate, generally an intermediary between a lord and his serfs.
His job included being responsible and accountable for ll his masters accounts and animals, as shown in this excerpt from The Canterbury Tales: His swin, his hors, his stoor, and his pultrye was hoolly in the Reeves governinge, and by his covenant yaf the reckeninge, sin that his lord was twenty-yeer of age (600-603). This excerpt shows the Reeve controlling what happens with his masters property and taking care of his financial situation because the master himself was too young to do it.
The Reeve was excellent at managing his masters estate and he himself had grown rich from his success as a superintendent, not hesitating to hower his master with gifts to gain even more favor with him: He coude bettre than his lord purchace. Ful riche he was astored prively His lord wel coude he pleasen subtilly To yive and lene him of his owene good And have a thank, and yite a cote and hood(610-614). The Reeve was a successful superintendent for his master and even bargained better than the master himself, which is why he was in control of the masters estate in the first place.
The Reeve was also respected for his accomplishments by those in the position of officials: There coude no man bringe him in arrerage Ther nas balliff, hierde, nor other hine, That he ne knew his sleighte and his covine– They were adrad of him as of the deeth (604-607). Chaucer also makes mention of the Reeves horse and the fact that he carried a rusty blade at his side. His horse was only a stallion-cob and his blade was rusty, showing that he really did not have use for either the horse or blade. Chaucer, in his description of the Reeve, decides not to make a mention of his religious practices or beliefs.
This was not Chaucers intention because it has no relevance to the character of the Reeve at all. As Chaucer presents these pilgrims in a social order from the highest in society to the lowest, the Reeve ends up falling between the Miller and the Summoner. Although from the character analysis the Reeve appears to be a successful superintendent of a prosperous estate, his position in society is low because he does not own the land that he presides over. Even though he is successful and has gained some wealth through his occupation, he still does not own the property and possessions and therefore cannot attain the higher social status.
In conclusion, Chaucer presents the Reeve in detail uncommon to most of the pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales. This detail along with the fact that the Reeve was given a name suggests that the Reeve tends to be more of a specific individual than a general presentation of a class or type of person. He also was prosperous in his occupation of superintendent of his masters estate, and even though he was respected and acknowledged for his accomplishments and wealth, he did not have the high social status because of his lack of land ownership.
