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Power Of Women In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

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“This act of violence made such a stir, so much petitioning to the king for her,..” (65-66). Now and then, women possess more power than men and men possess more power than women. However, in time their power gradually comes to a draw. “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Chaucer comments suggest that based on your gender, it determines on how much power you will receive. Chaucer implies that men should be on equal ground with women by showing the Knight when he had more power than women, when the King had no control over the Knight’s punishment, and when the Knight acknowledges that he should honor women/old women.
In the beginning of “The Wife of Bath's Tale”, the Knight was portrayed to have a lot of power, however it occurred only towards women. The Knight saw a maiden one day, “And of that …show more content…

The Knight ran into an old woman who told him the answer to the question and they rode to see the Queen. The Knight told the Queen that, “A women wants the self-same sovereignty over her husband as over her lover, and master him; he must not be above her.” (214-216). It is explaining in this quote that the men must not be more powerful than their women, that women are in control of their men. This relates to how the Queen showed she had more power and control when she said the Knight could live, which meant the King had no control over the punishment. However, if the King and Queen had equal power, perhaps the Knights punishment would have been different and they would respect each other.
Later on in “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”, the Knight was punished and his punishment was to marry the old women, he refused and was being disrespectful to her, he was saying she was old and ugly and he would not marry her. He eventually agreed because his life depended on

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Expectations for men and women in their role in society have been apparent in European history. During the Renaissance, The Book of Courtier explains that men are expected to participate in scholarly, political, and civic activities while the roles of women are limited to taking care of the children and household. Scripture depicts a similar idea of social roles in terms of authority between women and men which have also influenced the attitudes of society. However, when someone, specifically a woman, does not conform to those expectations, there is resistance from men to accept them. Female rulers such as Queen Elizabeth I had to rule with an unwavering assertiveness and shrewdness to maintain dominance over the chauvinistic opposition.

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Gloria Steinem once stated, “A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.” This quote is saying that women don’t need men, but the world has made the impression that they do. In the Wife of Bath’s Tale, women desire power over their husbands. In Chaucer’s Wife of Bath’s Tale, in lines 214 and 215, it states, “A woman wants the self-same sovereignty Over her husband as over her lover, And master him; he must not be above her.”

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Chaucer characterizes The Wife of Bath as controlling and powerful. The Wife of Bath was a complete contradiction of the typical female, during this time. The average woman was submissive and reserved. Whereas, The Wife of Bath possessed character traits that one would associate with men. Chaucer emphasizes this trait by describing her in such ways one would describe a man.

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Stereotypes of Women in The Canterbury Tales Stereotypes of women have not changed throughout the years of history. Throughout the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer portrays women through negative stereotypes. Women are portrayed as selfish, lustful and immoral. In the Wife of Bath’s Prologue women are portrayed as selfish.

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Another large idea carried all throughout the tale is the major sense of confidence the women have given to them by Chaucer. The only moment of weakness a female has in this tale is at the beginning then the Knight rapes the girl. After this ghastly event it seems as if women start taking control. This is also proven in the court when the queen and the women in the court speak up and are the ones to give the Knight his sentence. To stand up to a King as mighty as King Arthur one must be very confident.

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(Chaucer 45-60). Chaucer gives the knight genuine praise to show the virtuous qualities he possesses. Similarly, Chaucer uses the knight in “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” to show the importance of honor. The knight shows honor when he promises the queen that he will find what  women most desire, “In the end he chose to go away / And to return after a year and a day / Armed with such answer / As there might be sent to him by god” (Chaucer, 91-94).  

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The knight is this story is being punished for the horrific act of raping a woman, and his punishment is being determined by the Queen. Traditionally, “...this knight was condemned to die according to law, and should have lost his head,” (The Wife of Bath 35-36) but the queen requested that instead, the knight would have one year to discover what it is that women really want from men. During the knight’s journey, the theme of love is debated by various women, who could never in return give the knight the correct answer to the Queen's question. This tale expresses the importance that love is not something that can be taken for granted, and by stealing the maiden’s innocence through the act of rape, the knight undermining love’s prestigious qualities. After a year search, the knight finally reached a woman who would be able to bless him with the knowledge to answer the queen’s question, the old woman declared that “...generally women desire to have dominion over their husband as well as their lovers, and to be over them in mastery” (The Wife of Bath 181-84).

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(lines 93-98) It appears as if women are hard to understand and decipher when it is men who simply have a misunderstanding of the women’s needs. It seems as if the knight will never find his answer to such a simple question until he comes across an old lady who

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