The Wife Of Bath's Tale Essay

“The Canterbury Tales,” written by Geoffrey Chaucer, was a revolutionary work written in the early 14th Century that uses poetic views and writings of the recent past in order to dwell upon medieval society and to incorporate a variety of values toward average life around the time it was made. The tale reflects the ways in which societies roles were changing within the elite. Chaucer exhibits in each story what is right and wrong and how one should live through the errors of both men and women. However, the hidden message within the sub context of the tales is how medieval men looked down upon women and how this affected their role in society. Women during the 14th century were required to be obedient to man and were to only be seen and

Chaucer expresses his opinionated views of the manners and behaviors of women during these times. In the Wife of Bath's Tale, Chaucer portrays a lavish and lusty woman, whereas the Prioress is well mannered with an elegant attitude. Though it may seem as if these two women were complete opposites, they actually shared similar qualities. Women at this time did not possess the self-confidence to live, travel, and think independently. In the prologue, Chaucer says that the Wife of Bath, “had thrice been to Jerusalem /… to Rome and also to Boulogne / St James of Compostella and Cologne (473-476)” which shows the reader that she is not the average obedient female of Medieval society. Chaucer also includes that, “She’d had five husbands, all at the church door (470)” which shows that she is not the typical 14th century woman due to the fact that divorce in the medieval era took on a whole different meaning than in today's society. The Wife of Bath demonstrates qualities that women of her time typically did not display. The Prioress is a vain and artificial person that pretends to be rich. The Prioress, like The Wife of Bath, is a lady above all