Preview

The Wife Of Bath's Tale Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
938 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Wife Of Bath's Tale Analysis
The Wife of Bath’s Tale

Narrator: In the old days of King Arthur, of whom Britons speak great glory, this land was entirely filled with fairy power. The elf-queen danced often with her merry company in many green meadows. This long ago was the belief, as I find in books. I speak of many hundred years ago; but in our times no man can see elves any more. And so it happened that this King Arthur had in his court a lusty young knight, who one day came riding from the river; and it happened that he saw walking ahead of him a maiden, whom he ravished, in spite of all her resistance.

Raped Maiden: NO, NO, NO! I BEG OF THEE TO STOP! *CRIES* YOUNG KNIGHT HAVE PITY ON ME! *Fading voice* stop, stop, stop *cries* Sir gentry I beg of you to halt!

Narrator:
…show more content…
He could not do just as he pleased. And, with such a reply that God would provide for him, at last he chose to depart and come at the very end of the year; and he took his leave and went forth along his way.

Knight: My lady, may you tell me what women desire the most?

Lady 1: Women desire riches. See, if we have it all, we can never suffer any longer. It shall be an easy life!

Lady 2: Honor is what women desire young Sir. Honor shall bring you respect from people. I see nothing else as desiring from this.

Lady 3: Mirth it is we desire! We love amusement and merriment. What woman could ever resist such hilarity and glee?

Lady 4: I for all yearn for fancy clothing. Women want to feel as if they are royalty through wearing intricate clothes.

Knight: My liege lady, may you tell me what women desire the most?

Lady 5: We itch for pleasure in bed. It makes us forget the problems in life even for just a moment or a night. Who could ever resist that?

Lady 6: Widowed women like me wish to re-wed. I cannot imagine a life where I am forever alone. No one wants to be alone Sir knight.

Lady 7: We like to be flattered with such complimentary remarks. It makes our hearts at ease knowing that someone appreciates

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Men received greater respect; an ascribed dominant identity. Their ideas and needs were considered a necessity; they were entitled to decide their own destiny. Women however, had to meet societies expectations. A married woman has achieved her purpose in life. When Mr. Bennet tells his wife she is as handsome as her daughters, she says that she has had her share of beauty but doesn't pretend to be anything extraordinary now.…

    • 2674 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    While lying in bed together, the woman asked the Knight what it was she could do to get him to make love to her. He proceeded to tell her she was old, plain, and lowbred and nothing she could do could make him love her. She then countered by explaining to him that if he were nicer to her she could set things right. Just because someone is of “gentle birth” doesn’t make them a gentleman. Someone who does good deeds and kindness to others is the greater gentlemen. Then she quoted Dante by saying that good people don’t become good…

    • 748 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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…

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Jose Stone's, “A man's World” she said, “it would be nothing without a woman”. The moral and lesson of this story is to show people that sometimes we have to stop thinking about what we want and we need to think about what we need. This story teaches us that beauty isn't the most important aspects of a person. The knight realizing that it is more important to have someone that will be faithful, it made him value a person’s personality more than looks around and he gives his wife mastery over him. According to the text “I place myself in your wise governance”. A wife's possession of mastery is what is best for both men and woman, according to the Wife of…

    • 450 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    At the end of the tale, the old, ugly wife gave the knight the option to either be married to her as an aged and homely woman but she would be faithful to him, or he could choose for her to be beautiful and young but be unfaithful to him. He replied, “My lady and my love, and wyf so dere, I put me in your wyse governance; cheseth your-self, which may be most plesance, and most honour to yow and me also. I do no fors the whether of the two; for as yow lyketh, it suffiseth me” (Chaucer 374-379). This meant that he gave all of the control to his wife for her to make the decision, therefore understanding that women are ultimately capable of making the decisions in a relationship, and proving his growth from a man that just wanted dominance over women by rape, to a man who could give women the power over him. Because of the price he had to pay, most say he learned his lesson and deserved to be pardoned from the rape he had…

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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…

    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 583 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This question dawns on the entirety of the theme of both tales and the symbol that makes up the Wife of Bath. Alisoun differs from most women in fifteenth century England. At this point in time, women were merely viewed as objects. Throughout the journey, there are many stories told, and Alisoun, being one of three women to tell a story, explains her story of life. She threatens the race of men by being so controllable and wise in her being. Alisoun uses her husbands to…

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Wife Of Bath Analysis

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages

    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.…

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the short story, “Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady,” by Selina Hastings, the characters are portrayed in a stereotypical manner. First, according to the Arthurian legends, a King fights life-threatening obstacles to defend his crown and his life but the task given in the story is unexpected and surreal. As King Arthur confronts the Black Knight, he is challenged, “(i) shall give you one chance to save both your kingdom and your life. Listen carefully. You must come back here in three days’ time, on New Year’s Day, with the answer to this question: what is it that women most desire?” (Hastings 177). Kings are stereotyped to be put into any situation and find their way out. Second, this story exaggerates the appearance of the Loathly Lady, setting fixed opinions based on her looks. The King thinks to himself, “(s)he was the ugliest living thing he had ever set eyes on, a freak, a monster, a truly loathly lady. Her nose was a pig’s snout; from a misshapen mouth stuck out two yellowing rows of horse’s teeth;” (Hastings 178). King Arthur ignores how women should be portrayed and sets different standards of how women are actually portrayed. By marrying a knight, the society sets high expectations on the beauty of a bride. Third, the story stereotypes what women most desire but neglects the fact that everyone wants the same thing. When Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady were in the room together, the Loathly Lady said, “(y)ou have given me what every woman wants—her own way” (Hastings 181). In real life, women can do everything that men can do, and yet, all the decisions need to be made by women according to this story. In conclusion, “Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady” has three main stereotypes; all kings are strong and able to cope with the challenge, women are the only ones that want their own way and that all knights are expected to marry beautiful…

    • 335 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Wife of Bath Tale

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”, a knight rapes a woman and must suffer the punishment and shame of losing his life. He is given an automatum of finding what women really want or be put to death. He searches far and wide asking various women for the answer but is unsuccessful. His quest leads him to an old woman which gives him the correct answer but with many request that must be granted. (The old woman insist that the knight marry her.) 260…

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bullying can be defined as a physical or a verbal act of aggression, by an individual as well as a “group process” that has been repetitively exerted towards an individual who feels that they are unable to defend for him or herself. In the “a heath promoting school” approach to bullying, written by Penni Cushman and Tracy Clelland. The authors had stated that Olweus (1993) defines bullying by 3 characteristics as; “It is intentionally harmful, it is repetitive in nature and there is a power differential between the aggressor and victim,”…

    • 307 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sir Balin had sent his squire for his horse and armor, and was preparing to leave the court, when Arthur spoke to him: “Sir Balin, you must be angry with me for having imprisoned you; I understand now that I was wrongly informed. If it pleases you, remain at the court, and I will advance you to the barony.” “Sire, I thank you,” Sir Balin replied. “I could not ask for a better liege. No praise of mine could equal your generosity; but still I beg you to let me go.” “As you will, then,“ said Arthur, “although it saddens me to lose you, please know that if you return, my offer remains” (45).…

    • 1740 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There. Right over there. At locker number three hundred sixty eight. The new kid, awkwardly fidgeting with the dial. When the locker stubbornly refused to open, she gave an exasperated sigh and pulled a small slip of paper out of her mud-stained jeans. She squinted at it for a moment, then once again attempted the endeavor of opening the locker. This time, it swung open with a victorious click, and she crammed her bag, bursting at the seams with who knows what, into her locker.…

    • 2030 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Findings of several studies have shown different therapeutic potentials associated with Cucumis melo Linn. Roots, stems, leaves, fruits, kernel, fruit pulp, seeds, flowers or the whole plant itself have many medicinal properties (Milind and Kulwant, 2011).…

    • 1611 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics