The Wife of Bath Feminist
The Wife of Bath: Medieval Feminist
Christiana Adeshewo
The University of Texas Arlington
Introduction
The wife of bath character in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales is a strong, boisterous woman who is not afraid to direct anyone willing to listen on womanhood, marriage-hood, the way things are and ought to be. She stood strong and confident in her experiences in life and felt that all of her life’s dealings taught her valuable lessons. Some could call her a feminist. The wife of bath may very well be one of the first characters of medieval times with feministic ideologies. This essay will explain the feministic views voiced in her prologue and tale.
The Wife of Bath on the right to remarry
The wife of bath admits that she has been married five times; and without shame she is looking for her sixth. “Thanks be to God who is forever alive,/Of husbands at church door have I had five”(Chaucer, line 5-7). In comparison to women of the medieval times, the wife of bath is viewed as a promiscuous woman. The British Library explains women of the middle ages, “ The two main alternatives for a medieval woman were to marry, or to 'take the veil' and become a nun.” (2014) The wife of bath’s additional marriages after the first were viewed as a taboo. In the middle ages, widows were expected not to remarry and practice celibacy for the rest of their lives. According to the British Library, “Once widowed, such women had legal independence and, in many instances, autonomy over considerable financial resources.” (2014) I believe that this autonomy, and legal independence mixed with her personality and perception of women in the world gave the wife of bath courage to remarry not once but an additional four times. In the tale she explains, “Forsooth, I’ll not keep chaste for good and all;/ When my good husband from the world is gone,/ Some Christian man shall marry me anon;/ For then , the apostle says that I am free /To wed, in God’s name, where it pleases
Christiana Adeshewo
The University of Texas Arlington
Introduction
The wife of bath character in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales is a strong, boisterous woman who is not afraid to direct anyone willing to listen on womanhood, marriage-hood, the way things are and ought to be. She stood strong and confident in her experiences in life and felt that all of her life’s dealings taught her valuable lessons. Some could call her a feminist. The wife of bath may very well be one of the first characters of medieval times with feministic ideologies. This essay will explain the feministic views voiced in her prologue and tale.
The Wife of Bath on the right to remarry
The wife of bath admits that she has been married five times; and without shame she is looking for her sixth. “Thanks be to God who is forever alive,/Of husbands at church door have I had five”(Chaucer, line 5-7). In comparison to women of the medieval times, the wife of bath is viewed as a promiscuous woman. The British Library explains women of the middle ages, “ The two main alternatives for a medieval woman were to marry, or to 'take the veil' and become a nun.” (2014) The wife of bath’s additional marriages after the first were viewed as a taboo. In the middle ages, widows were expected not to remarry and practice celibacy for the rest of their lives. According to the British Library, “Once widowed, such women had legal independence and, in many instances, autonomy over considerable financial resources.” (2014) I believe that this autonomy, and legal independence mixed with her personality and perception of women in the world gave the wife of bath courage to remarry not once but an additional four times. In the tale she explains, “Forsooth, I’ll not keep chaste for good and all;/ When my good husband from the world is gone,/ Some Christian man shall marry me anon;/ For then , the apostle says that I am free /To wed, in God’s name, where it pleases