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Sovereignty In The Wife Of Bath's Tale

1026 Words5 Pages

The mind of a woman is one engulfed in a variety of beliefs and conceptions that internally distinguishes one from another. To demonstrate, some women most desire a multitude of different traits from their husband based off the situation in their relationship. One type of woman who feels beneath her husband may desire equality in the relationship. Another type of woman who is facing possible danger may want a fearless husband who can protect them from harm. One final type of woman who has a history of being with people they find physically unattractive, and simply wants a handsome . Throughout the course of the Wife of Bath’s Tale, it is said time and time again that women desire sovereignty. The initial mention of this was when an old …show more content…

In the Miller’s tale, After little reluctance, Alison acquiesces to leave her old husband John for the younger, more romantic Nicholas, a college student who lives with the couple. Alison demonstrates this desire as “My husband is so full of jealousy/Unless you watch your step and hold your breath/I know for certain it will be your death” (Chaucer 91). This elaborates that Alison has a desire or at least no moral qualms about leaving her previous husband for a much more sensual lover, with the only obstacle in her way being her husband's jealousy. Even the jealousy has no effect on her demonstrating that her fears for Nicholas’s safety are trumped by her love and desire for him. Additionally, Alison further represents the desire for such a lover compared to her cuckolded husband. While Alison is with John, she has no worries about about money anytime in her future. John is even described as “... a rich old codger/Who lived in Oxford and who took a lodger”(Chaucer 88). While Alison is in such a financially stable situation where she stand to inherit all of John’s money, she risks it for the broke Nicholas, further demonstrating the desire that appears to be most cherished, a lover. Alison putting herself in such precarious situation can only point to the one motivation which drives all of her actions, her lover Nicholas. These actions can only prove that the

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