Comparing The Wife Of Bath And Federigo's Falcon

During the Middle Ages, women didn’t have as much rights as they did nowadays. Since they weren’t soldiers, they didn’t have much political rights. Socially, women were submissive to their male relatives such as their father, husband, and others. The only place where women could contribute to society was at home during the childbearing stages. However, stories in these periods presented two women that were different from the typical woman: The Wife of Bath from Canterbury Tales, and Monna Giovana from Federigo’s Falcon. These two women stand out because of their background, their views, as well as their relations with the opposite sex. These two women represent the same archetype: a strong independent woman.

The two women were raised in different places, but they come from almost the same background. The Wife of Bath lived a wealthy lifestyle, as shown in the Prologue: “ her kerchiefs were of finely woven ground… her hose were of the finest scarlet red” (Chaucer, p.133). She is
In the Boccaccio’s story, we are told that Monna Giovana was a widow, which brought her to meeting with Federigo since their homes were near each other. The Wife of Bath was different though as she already had five husbands, and might be looking at a sixth one: “she’d had five husbands, all at the church door, apart from other company in youth” (Chaucer, p. 133)

Throughout the two stories, we can see how both Monna Giovana and Wife of Bath fit the archetype of a strong independent woman. The two come from similar backgrounds, but do not let that background affect their views, which are relatively liberal in comparison to other views. The two has also gone through a lot both in life as well as in relationships. Overall, these characters serve as an inspiration for other stories, as well as for a lot of people for their groundbreaking views at a time when women didn’t have as much