The Man of Law's Tale exalts the sacrifice and honor of Constance, the daughter of the Roman emperor who will suffer a number of injustices during the years over which the story takes place. It is an overtly religious tale that does not even reach for the subtlety of allegory. Constance depends on her religious faith for her survival throughout a number of events in the story, while those characters who do not share her Christian faith are uniformly evil, whether pagan or Muslim. The tale takes a narrow view of humanity in which Christianity represents unadulterated purity and any other religious tradition is pure evil. Yet the Man of Law's Tale places a significant emphasis on fate;

Her virtue and honor stem from her devotion to Christian principles, while those who adhere to other religious beliefs are automatically suspect. This holds true for the Syrians and even their sultan. The Lawyer describes them as covetous and, in the case of the sultan, lustful. He wishes to marry Constance before he has even met her, desiring the power that comes from her status as Roman royalty. The sultan is only redeemed when he chooses to convert to Christianity, but even when this occurs Constance still faces dancer from the sultana, whose villainy is shown by her devotion to her faith and unwillingness to accept Christian principles.