But the answer to the old woman’s question proves that he has learned his lesson after all. With this tale, the Wife of Bath is trying to portray a message that women are strong and determined, which goes along with her belief in the equality of the
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.
“A patriarchal society consists of a male-dominated power structure throughout organized society and in individual relationships” (Napikoski). Yet, Chaucer discusses and talks about The Wife of Bath as someone who is powerful, even more powerful than her spouses. He does this through describing her attire, some of which was red which symbolized wealth and also through the statement that she has been married five times. “Hir hosen weren of fin scarlet reed,/ Ful straite yteyd, and shoes ful moiste and
In the Tale of the Wife of Bath, the reader can infer that the wife of bath is rather promiscuous. In the general prologue, she was described as wearing very tight, scarlet red hose to church on a Sunday. The color red is traditional the color of seduction and it’s not a color most would wear to their Sunday church service. In the text it also states, “With five churched husbands bringing joy and strife, not counting other company in youth,” which reveals that she has had many husbands and she has shared with multiple other men in her youth. The author also states that she has very open gapped teeth which can be inferred by the reader as a metaphor to how open her legs are to other men.
The Wife of Bath and her tale are the most similar out of all the tales because they both share a domineering outlook over others. In the general prologue she is told to have had five husbands and is described as a looker, “Her face was bold and handsome and ruddy,” (Chaucer 39). In her prologue she goes more in depth of her time spent with her five husbands. Wife of Bath talks most about how she gains control over her husbands. For instance, her fifth husband was the controlling force in their marriage until he made the mistake of hitting her and telling her he would do anything to keep her with him and said, “My own true wife, do as you wish for the rest of your life…” (335).
The Wife of Bath’s behaviors are questionable but are inherently aided by the social injustices that face women of this time period. The Wife of Bath discloses that for her first three marriages she sought out older wealthy men for sex and money. Her intentions included making her husbands fall in love with her and then making them have enormous amounts of sex until they die. In addition, the wife elaborates on her occasional tumultuous tirades of accusing her husbands of being unfaithful to her. Her uproars chided her husbands into persistently obliging into her every request.
The Wife of Bath mentioned as being greedy, is also gluttonous in that she actively seeks out the attention of those around her. She, like the Prioress , would rather focus on herself, her personal belongings and relationships than the church. She used the church to fulfil her need for attention and to be legally married. Other than that, she was not overly keen to give any money to the church as she
When I read the Wife of Bath’s Tale I found the knight to be inappropriate and very selfish. I feel like the story didn 't make sense to me, but overall the story was pretty good. I would not recommend reading it
The Wife of Bath on the other hand, was a rambunctious woman who loved 'love', wealth and sex. She had married about 5 to 6 times and wore the pants in the relationship. The Wife of Bath questioned God, loved material things and was not afraid to insult or slurr. She was not the everyday, typical woman of the middle Ages. Though both these women showed to possess similarities to real medieval women such as Heloise and Christine de Pizan.
After reading the Prologue and Tale for the Wife of Bath, the conclusion that has been drawn is that the chapter should be censored because of the graphic contents. The wife from Bath goes into detail about marriage and sex that relates to her life and the bible. Being as that, the wife from Bath is a religious woman who follows the contexts of the Bible with her daily and sexual life; as what she should do and what she should not do. She tells the people who she is traveling with about what it is like being married to five different men and how a woman should keep control over their husbands. By just listening to what the Wife from Bath has to say you can con to the understanding that she uses her husband to the best of her ability before
The Wife of Bath does not have good marriages because she is very selfish. She will marry anyone as long as it will benefit her. The major gain of marriage, for the Wife of bath is the marriage debt, or sex, which is why she's so strongly in favor of marriage. She also is all about marriage because appears the ability to gain property, wealth, and a comfortable living situation through a husband. The Wife Of Bath is constantly lying to all five of the husbands she has
Throughout her introduction of the tale, and the story itself, we see the Wife of Bath as an experienced, intellectual woman, who despite living in a world of patriarchal power, provides for herself financially, emotionally, and physically. As a feminist icon, she confronts serious social issues that illustrate the subjugation women faced. During her prologue and her tale, it is very clear that the Wife of Bath is proud and not ashamed of her sexuality. She views sex as a good ideal, and argues it, using references from the Bible, that God’s intentions
The Wife of Bath: An Analysis of Her Life and Her Tale The Wife of Bath’s Prologue stays consistent with the facts that experience is better than the societal norms, specifically those instilled by the church leadership. Chaucer uses the Wife of Bath to display the insanity of the church, but through switching and amplifying their view of men and chastity onto the opposite gender. The church doctrine at the time held celibacy in an idolized manner, forgetting the inability for humans to ever reach perfection, or live up to this standard. They also did not hold women in a high regard at all, again this is where Chaucer flips the role, as the Wife of Bath describes her five marriages in her prologue, essentially describing each as a conquest, where the result is her having all control.
The Wife of Bath states, “You have two choices; which one will you try? To have me old and ugly till I die, but still a loyal, and humble wife that never will displease you all her life, or would you rather I were young and pretty and chance your arm what happens in a city where friends will visit you because of me, yes, and in other places too, maybe. Which would you rather have? The choice is all your own” (395-403).
However, the Wife of Bath is described in the prologue as being independent because she travels on her own and “[knows] much of wandering by the way” (467). In her tale, the wife says, “women most desire… sovereignty/ [over] their husbands or the ones they love” (1038-1039). Based on her label as wife, readers
