Ladies and gentlemen it has been a great pleasure to listen to all the great tales that are told throughout our journey. However every journey has an end and it includes this one. Although each tale has its own unique aspect and a great story in its own right, I finally narrowed it down to two that I thought was a cut above the rest. I judged the tales based on its predictability and its overall impact on our moralities. Ultimately I came to the decision between The Wife of Bath's Tale and The Franklin’s Tale. Compare to the other tales, not only do the Franklin’s and the Wife of Bath’s tale have an unexpected twist at the end, but also both tales offer exceptionally deep impressions that alter my perspective on marriage.…
She made it clear in each of her marriages that she was the one in charge. This should be considered a virtue of hers, because if a man attempted to dump all of the household workload on her while he sat around relaxing, she would stand up for herself and force him to do the work. The Wife, however, could sometimes take the belief of the wife playing the dominant role in the marriage too far. She made her first three husbands feel as though it were always their fault, and would not take responsibility for her actions. Chaucer describes the woman as “somewhat deaf, which was a pity” (456). This could perhaps symbolize her ignorance to her husband’s complaints and issues, for the pure reason that she thinks the husband should submit to the will of the wife. The wife would nearly put herself on a pedestal, and would use her husband’s money to buy herself elegant clothing. However, the Wife clearly was not satisfied with one man to marry. The author writes, “She’d had five husbands, all at the church door, / Apart from other company in youth” (470). This unquestionably demonstrates her deadly sin:…
This interpretation is weakened by the fact that the Wife of Bath herself conforms to a number of these misogynist and misogamist (antimarriage) stereotypes. For example, she describes herself as sexually voracious but at the same time as someone who only has sex to get money, thereby combining two contradictory stereotypes. She also describes how she dominated her husband, playing on a fear that was common to men, as the Pardoner’s nervous interjection reveals. Despite their contradictions, all of these ideas about…
When studying the Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Wife of Bath’s Tale, both coming from the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, you see a common theme of feminism. Also, you get a good sense of the of the anti feminist cultural norms and ideas regarding women in the medieval era. Alisoun, The Wife of Bath, focuses most upon the common stereotypes of women. These stereotypes include the idea that women only marry into money in order to live a lavish lifestyle off of their husband’s income as well as the belief that women will never stop talking to their husbands. Stemming from this, the common belief among men was that if you were to get married, it would ruin your chances of success later in life. The Wife of Bath opposed all of these…
The Wife of Bath is an admirable women, but at the same time, she is not. Her actions may be to protect and take care of herself as a woman with no rights though they are not good and respectful to her husbands.…
After reading this line, readers are able to conclude that the Wife of Bath believes that women are superior to men—they are neither bold nor wise. The Wife of Bath wants to spread her cult—she wants the other women to become powerful and superior to their husbands—just like she is. For instance, line 234 translates to the following: a woman should swear and lie to their husband—they have the power to do it (Benson). In line 235, the Wife of Bath makes it clear that her advice is not meant for the wise wives (Benson). Therefore, the readers are able to argue that the wise wives that listen to her advice—take a moment to reflect on their wise manipulation skills. In line 236, the readers learn that the Wife of Bath’s advice is also intended to seek the attention of the wise wives that have been improperly advised on how to make their husbands feel guilty—by using their effective manipulation skills…
The Wife of Bath's story compliments her (first or early on scene), since it bolsters the subject of control of men by ladies what she worked hard with every one of her spouses. Dissimilar to the next individuals who recount stories (or falsehoods), she doesn't speak to a social class, be that as it may she speaks to every one of the ladies in the medieval…
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer has remained as one of the most developed pieces of satirical work. Each of Chaucer’s pilgrims depict traits that often conflict with the positions they hold in society. Between four particular tales, the characteristics of their statuses become sardonic over exaggerations of the traditional roles found in marriage. The speakers of each fable portray their perspectives on the institution, showing the complexity in defining the fundamentals of a successful marriage. Throughout these tales, Chaucer shows contrasting perspectives on where governance lies in a marriage and how to achieve bliss in such a custom.…
Meanwhile, in “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”, the lesson features how one’s social standing does not equate to the quality of their character. During a lengthy speech, an old, poor woman admonishes a much younger, wealthier knight of over his disgust in her. In her passionate…
Showing her rank by her elegant clothes and red stocking, also eluding that she is likes her lovers. Wife of Bath is the opposite of the Nun loud and modern, not what a woman should be by their standards. Chaucer’s states, “There was a good WIFE OF beside BATH, /But she was somewhat deaf, and that was a pity. / Her kerchiefs were very fine in texture; /… Her stockings were of fine scarlet red, / Very closely laced, and shoes very supple and new. / She was a worthy woman all her life:/ She had (married) five husbands at the church door, /She knew, as it happened, about remedies for love / For she knew the old dance (tricks of the trade) of that art./ (Chaucer lines 445-476). Chaucer again eludes that she knows how to perform an abortion, “She knew about remedies for love” giving her rank as experienced and her behaviorism give air to a woman who can do what she pleases even though she had five husbands which was abnormal for the time…
The wife of bath is a very confident woman who, in the prologue of her tale, talks about her five husbands. She seems very satisfied with her life and her choices; she is fulfilled regardless of the men she was married to. Even with all their deaths, she remains happy and independent. “But even now I will strive to be merry.” (Lines 478-479) The story she tells is about a knight who, after he rapes a young girl, is forced by the queen to find out what women desire the most. He finally discovers that what women want the most is to have sovereignty over their husbands. This goes directly along with the character of the wife of bath, who loved the control she had over her husbands more than anything else. The story proves that the answer to what women want the most is not just one static statement. What a person desires most in life depends on their own character and their own…
The roles of who deals with the knight are switched. When the king declares one thing, the queen and ladies decide another. “Ceaselessly, he gave the queen the case,” and she gives the knight one year to find what women truly want (WBT 72). At the end of that year the knight meets an old hag who gives him the answer in exchange for his hand in marriage. The Wife of Bath tells a story where message is that women should be obeyed in all matters. The queen and ladies of the court decide the Knights fate instead of the men and the old hag, being everything the Knight despises, ends up being his savior. In the Wife of Bath’s life she is the old hag. She may not be beautiful or young, but she knows what she wants and gets…
Although she had only been in true love once, She feels what it is like and what women most desire. “I think i loved him best, I’ll tell no lie. He was disdainful in his love, that’s why.” The answer to the knights question is that women want to be in control of their husbands love. The knight in Sir Gawain’s tale eventually figures this out at the end when he comes to enjoy the being of the old Dame Ragnell. The thematic contrast between the stories bring out the true colors of the Wife of Bath and Sir Gawain. Both want to be in control, but that is the long fight of any happy marriage, the true struggle for power. To gain a happy life there needs to be a happy…
Back then, the men were the ones in power and the women were either wives or nuns. Wife of Bath completely broke off from tradition and from the Church beliefs. She used her body sexually as a way to influence her husbands into satisfying her needs. One can notice the control she had over men when she states, “I laugh now when I think how pitifully by night I made them swink… they’d given me their gold, and treasure more; I needed not do longer diligence to win their love” (lines 201-206). According to this, one can infer that Wife of Bath used the power of sex as a way to gain wealth from her husbands. Along with money, her biggest desire was also sovereignty. A husband needs to allow to be dominated by his wife, so that in return the wife is able to please him. When Wife of Bath is telling her tale she helps readers understand the power women have over men by detailing the relationship between the King and Queen. “But that the Queen, and the other ladies too, implored the king to exercise his grace so ceaselessly, he gave the queen the case” (lines 70-72). Clearly it is shown how the King gave into the Queens request, demonstrating the control women can have on their husbands or lovers. Evidently, the dominant characteristic in Wife of Bath is a keen factor that contributes to the overall theme of the story.…
One of the striking features of the 18th century England is the rapid growth of urban society in both the metropolis and provincial towns.The eighteenth century was the century of hot springs cities, namely Epsom, Islington, Buxton and Cheltenham.Yet it cannot be denied that they were not as famous as the city of Bath. Bath is the most representative city to depict the striking urban and social development of hot springs in England at that time.…