Among unequals what society Can sort‚ what harmony or true delight? Milton‚ Paradise Lost‚ VIII‚ ll. 383-4 GEOFFREY CHAUCER AND THE WIFE OF BATH´S TALE Chaucer begins the tale by exploring the institution of marriage‚through the character of the Wife who starts by making an statement of authority‚ her own experience on marriage. In order to show her experience in relationships she states that three of her husbands were old and rich and two of them‚ young and wild. Marriage
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Beginning her tale unannounced‚ the Wife of Bath bursts onto the scene taking the entire pilgrimage by surprise. Her agenda is to engage in the medieval debate on marriage‚ confronting the scholarly authority of the church from the standpoint of common experience. Her main emphasis is on maistrie and believes that women should have the upper hand in marriage‚ making winning and retaining maistrie their main objective. She also refutes canon law which says you are only allowed one husband‚ distorting
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of the Wife of Bath is clearly feminist. She indicates this by her extreme ideas of female "maistrye" and statements such as "I have the power duringe al my lyf upon his proper body‚ and nought he‚" which is extremely feminist. However‚ Chaucer makes us see the Wife of Bath as inconsistent‚ at times illogical‚ and also amoral and adulterous‚ The prologue and tale is spoken by a woman of supposed vast experience‚ yet was written by a man. While the prologue and tale may be seemingly feminist‚ could
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would be taken to court to be punished. In King Arthur’s court of law‚ his queen can implore him to give her the case and choose what to do with the criminal. In the Wife of Bath’s tale written by Geoffrey Chaucer there was an old woman that used rules of chivalry so a promise kept from a knight to her wouldn’t be turned down. In the Wife Of Bath’s tale a knight is taken to court to be punished for violating a maiden. In King Arthur’s court‚ Arthur condemned that the knight should be put to death and
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The Wife of Bath and the Role of Women The Prologue to the Wife of Bath can be analyzed to reveal many medieval conceptions of women in England. Certain factors like religion‚ tradition‚ and politics and social etiquette had a monumental effect on the social views of what women’s role should be. The Wife of Bath has been called “the first feminist” because of her refusal to adhere to the traditional way of life expected from her by society simply because she was a woman. The time period in which
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Kalpen C. Laney Eng 102 March 4th ‚ 2013 The Wife of Bath Is Not A Feminist Chaucer used the Wife of Bath to push his thoughts on feminism through her attitude and views. Throughout Canterbury Tales‚ she explains her ideas of women and how they are by telling stories of her varies marriages. She elaborates on the negative stereotypes towards women and her thoughts begin to form the idea that she is a feminist. Really‚ the Wife of Bath is far from a feminist; therefore‚ to call her so would be insulting
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The Wife of Bath: Female Empowerment In Medieval Europe women traditionally occupied specific gender roles. Some of these roles that women were expected to carry out included wife‚ peasant‚ artisan and nun. Women during this period were constantly told by society and the church that because of their gender they were meant to be weak and submissive to men. Geoffery Chaucer a poet in the late medieval period sought to challenge these constraints placed on women during this period‚ through the
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with misogyny. Traits such as being overly-sexual‚ deceitful‚ and overall inferior were attributed to women and they were treated as such. A prominent literary example of this anti-feminist time period lies within Chaucer’s‚ The Canterbury Tales: The Wife of Bath‚ in her prologue‚ and her tale. When analyzing The Wife of Bath’s role‚ the question arises concerning whether Chaucer intended to portray her as a stereotypical‚ over-sexual‚ cheating‚ deceitful woman or use her to advocate gender equality
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extensive stories comes from the character‚ The Wife of Bath. Initially‚ she is described in short as a well-dressed woman who knew much about love and life. “Of remedies of love she knew per chaunce‚/ For she koude of that art the olde daunce” (Chaucer‚ GP‚ 475-476). Upon further examination of her prologue and tale‚ one comes to find that she may be one the most intriguing characters represented in the Canterbury Tales. Everything about the Wife of Bath is bold and pronounced‚ from what she wears
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Based on the prologue‚ I believe the Wife of Bath refers to the Bible frequently to show points it makes in stories that seem to be different from what we could call the ‘societal norms’ of the time. She does this especially often in the beginning‚ specifically when she is defending her having five husbands. Though it was never stated‚ the biblical references she made indicated she was defending her position‚ and that it was not considered normal for a woman to have this many husbands within her
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