Enclosed with two dozen stories, the Canterbury Tales introduce the readers to an farrago of different genres, morals and themes. Chaucer uses characterization and conflict to develop those themes and how those themes reflected in the historical record presented in the nonfiction texts. In the Wife of Bath’s Tale, we are shown how the pilgrims reflect their positions within medieval society, as well as their own personal characteristics, through the tales that each of them share. Chaucer uses the theme marriage and love to characterize the tale of the Wife of Bath. “Power” is a big theme that sticks out among others. In her story, power fundamentally rests in the hands of women, though by the end, power is restored to the hands or …show more content…
The Wife of Bath is a headstrong woman who boldly puts herself among the public in a “Non-Christian” way. During that time, women were categorized as saints or sinners by their actions according to Christian tradition. Chaucer describes her as a woman who dresses in fine linen and silk who had wide gapped teeth, which was a sign of “sensuality and lust.” Chaucer describes this is the General prologue, “Hir coverchiefs ful fyne weren of ground; I dorste swere they weyeden ten pound; That on a Sunday weren upon hir heed. Hir hosen weren of fyn scarlet reed, Ful streite yteyd, and ful moyste and newe.” Though her tale doesn’t focus that much on beauty, it does focus on “power”. A knight denies a young woman’s power over her body by taking her virginity forcefully, having become full of lust. His punishment, as decided by the Queen and ladies of the court, was to find out what women most desired, which turned out to be power. In the end of her tale, Chaucer shows conflict by focusing on the decisions the knight must make with the hag, the same hag that forced him to marry her after he promised her anything for the correct answer. On the night of their marriage, the ugly hag gave the knight a choice: either he can have her ugly but loyal and good, or he can have her young and fair, but also flirtatious and unfaithful. The knight thinks about what