The titular character in Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale” challenges medieval patriarchy in an attempt to denounce the sexist ideals at the time. However, the Wife of Bath herself is not a flawless example of feminism.…
Chaucer's Wife of Bath is one of the most amazing characters in English Literature. She is a strong, clever, independent woman who knows what she likes and usually gets it. She is lusty and not shy about it. She exposes and mocks misogyny in various ways, showing just how misogynistic medieval society was. However, although her strong willed nature and mockery of this patriarchy is apparent, as an audience we still remain confused, and discover aspects of her characteristics and journey, which show that perhaps she is still trapped in this ideal male dominated world. The Wife of Bath, Alison is represented as a rare and unique woman in the initial portrayal of her in the prologue, but at the end of her prologue, the Wife of Bath succumbs to the pressure of society, conforms and becomes the medieval wife.…
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…
In “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”, Chaucer promotes a modern feministic perspective as he implements…
In Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, the description of the Wife of Bath in the “General Prologue” seems to contradict her tale and prologue. In the “General Prologue”, The Wife of Bath is described as a very confident woman who is superior, socially speaking. But this portrayal is contradicted by her tale and prologue due to the fact that her independence results from other people, more specifically men. From this it can be derived that it is not true independence or confidence that the Wife of Bath embodies, but a false sense of the traits. The portrayal of a strong and confident woman that the “General Prologue” has set up for the Wife of Bath’s character is therefore shattered through the evidence of her insecurity and dependence on others.…
In “The Wife of Bath’s Tale,” the knight received a punishment and was rewarded as well for violently raping an innocent girl just because he could not control himself. In the beginning of the tale, the knight was selfish and masochistic and clearly wanted to show his power and dominance over the girl by raping her, to prove that women could not have control over men. Chaucer states, “Hadde in his hous a lusty bacheler, that on a day cam rydinge fro river; and happed that, allone as she was born, he saugh a mayde walkinge him biforn of whiche mayde anon, maugree hir heed, by verray force he rafte hir maydenheed…” (Chaucer 26-32). The knight was punished for what he had done, but not in the way the reader may expect. He had to search for a year what women wanted most, and when he found the answer (that women wanted to be in charge of their lovers and spouses), he was allowed to live but had to marry the hag who gave him the answer.…
When writing, authors often know how they want to portray their characters, like if they want the person to stand for a greater meaning or to exist simply for ridicule. But some authors fall short of this mark and create wishy-washy figures that neither prove nor disprove an idea. This is the case with Chaucer and his portrayal of the Wife of Bath. The writer neither ridicules the woman for her multiple marriages nor does he use her to ridicule the gender norms of the time.…
“The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.” (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie) The claim that all women desire the same thing is going to stereotype a whole gender. Dennis Prager’s explores this generalization in his editorial “What do Women Want?” He bases his whole argument around one simple statement, “What a woman most wants is to be loved by a man she admires.” Prager describes the archetype of an admirable man based on the three qualities of strength, integrity, and ambition. His editorial, however accurate at some points, makes an incorrect assertion of what women really want the most. The evidence he uses to back up his argument is completely centered around men, making the assumption that women’s security lies in whether or not the man she marries is admirable. This does not take all the women who are unmarried, or do not even have an interest in men into…
In The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer, the narrator introduces many characters in “The Prologue.” Twenty-nine strangers embark on a pilgrimage to Canterbury, one of them being the Wife of Bath. In “The General Prologue”, “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue”, and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”, the Wife of Bath is described in a very critical, yet amusing way.…
In Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales: “The Wife of Bath”, one acquires insight on the character Wife of Bath and how her ideals and principles differ from the customs in medieval times. Wife of Bath was a perceptive and dominant women that was looked upon as a gold digger that used her body as a way to get around the bushes with men. While it may be true, it is without a doubt that she expressed actions that where desired by many women at the time, but were resistant to show these actions because it went against social regulations.…
In “The Wife of Bath’s Tale,” Chaucer uses the old woman’s unexpected contrasts between good poverty and bad wealth to show that poverty is actually better than being wealthy. The old woman describes “The poor can dance and sing in the relief / Of having nothing that will tempt a thief/ Though it can be hateful, poverty is good, / A great incentive to a livelihood” (270). Although her life is near the bottom of the social hierarchy, “dance and sing” suggests hope, happiness, and celebration. Adding on, “great incentive” adds a positive perspective towards poverty as if it is not as bad as one thinks because the poor have a lot of motivation to work for a living. She suggests that if one is not wealthy, one can enjoy their lives by looking in a positive direction. Furthermore, the old woman illustrates her life as a lower class, and suggests that “Poverty often, when the heart is lowly/Brings one to God and teaches what is holy /gives knowledge of oneself” (290). The old woman is poor and taught herself to become self-sufficient, and poverty taught her “what was holy.” and also taught morals of what is right and wrong, and one’s true talents. Wealth might seem as a success, but the Old Woman says “Poverty is, though wanting in estate/ a kind of wealth that none calumniate” (290). “Wanting” is to lack, “estate” as social class or the possession of money, and “calumniate” meaning making false and defamatory statements, suggesting that “Poverty” can not be criticized. Although the old woman’s family is destitute, the real poverty lies in the rich’s avarice, where the wealthy are unable to stop their greediness. The old woman suggests the humorous contrast that the poor value their possessions, whereas the high class’s visions are clouded due to not appreciating towards their surroundings which leads to avarice for material possession. Lastly, the repetition of “poverty” signifies the position of the woman is in, and although her status may not be superior, the wisdom…
The Wife of Bath, or Alison, is a worldly woman. Not only has she traveled the world, she has experienced the world, in the sexual manner. Alison herself states this at the beginning of her tale, "Were there no books at all on the subject, my own experience gives me a perfect right to talk of the sorrows of marriage . . . I've married five husbands . . . ."(Chaucer 174). The point of Alison's long-winded prologue is to crush the idea that men have a hierarchy of dominance over women. Chaucer makes this point, and also the point, through Alison's tale, that if women are given what they want, then they will be obedient and faithful to their men.…
The Wife of Bath has a very strict criteria when it comes to marriage. She has been married five times starting at the age of 12. Her first marriage most likely was an arranged one where she had no control over the situation which might have helped her in creating her philosophy on the subject/affair. The wife of bath marries on her terms which was the complete opposite of what was accepted and condoned in medieval times. When the Wife of Bath does marry she makes sure that the “agreement” will benefit her and that she is able to somehow control her husband and that he is well endowed and okay for a good romp in the bed. Alisoun views marriage as a type of ‘job which she enjoys especially because of sex which she enjoys. She is portrayed and written as more of a promiscuous woman that will only be laid to bed when she is married.…
In The Wife of Baths Tale, the wife of bath is considered a modern woman. Today’s definition of a modern woman, would be someone who was promiscuous, strong willed, and convincing. Today’s women know how to get what they want, by using what they have and she defiantly does that. The wife of bath likes to take control of her marriage doing as she pleases. She feels men should submit to her, and this is seen in today’s society with the saying “happy wife, happy life”. In the story, the knight was given the question what do most women desire most, the answer being most women desire to be dominate in their relationship. When he said his answer all of the women there agreed to his answer. Although many women would agree with this way of thinking,…
Fedrigo’s Falcon and The Wife of Bath’s Tale were written by Boccaccio and Chaucer respectable. Both stories are told inside of their own larger story frames, each consisting of a group of people telling stories to each other. The stories themselves share a common thread, focusing on the significance of sacrifices in the search for love, but differ on the value of the person’s character who does the sacrifice.…