喬叟的《坎特伯利故事集》是一部由一群中世紀朝聖者在前往坎特伯利大教堂朝聖往返途中透過說故事比賽所創作的文學作品。朝聖者來自社會上不同階級：包括騎士、教會人士、以及勞動階層。作者企圖藉著對這些代表人物的描述及他們所說的故事來呈現當時的中世紀社會。其中較特殊的是有三位女士同行（巴斯夫人、女修道院院長、與第二位修女）並參與說故事比賽。中世紀基本上是個由男性主宰的社會，女人通常地位較低且須依附男人而活。在大部份中世紀男性作品中只有好女人與壞女人。喬叟在此作品中卻一反常例的賦予這三位女士鮮明且獨特的個性以及發聲的機會。女性聲音的出現不但是象徵女性的自主，而且對於當時的男尊女卑的社會現象也予以質疑與挑戰。

In The Canterbury Tales, supposedly a collection of tales told by a group of pilgrims on their way to the Canterbury Cathedral, Geoffrey Chaucer tries to present a cross-section of the medieval society which is essentially male-dominated. In addition to the inclusion of members from the distinct social estates: the nobility, the clergy and the laborers, Chaucer allows three female pilgrims to take part in the story-telling competition. In most medieval male discourses, women are in inferior positions and are defined in their relations to men. They are either praised for their physical beauty or their virginity, or reviled as temptresses who could ruin men. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer takes the unprecedented action in experimenting with female voice. By giving striking personalities to the three female pilgrims/tale-tellers--namely the Wife of Bath, the Prioress, and the Second Nun--and by allowing them voice for self-representation, Chaucer challenges various discourses surrounding femininity. The inclusion of female voice not only shows women's autonomy but also challenges and questions the legitimacy of male domination and female subordination.