The Wife of Bath is a complex character-she is different from the way she represents herself. Maybe not even what she herself thinks she is. On the surface, it seems as though she is a feminist, defending the rights and power of women over men. She also describes how she dominates her husband, playing on a fear that was common to men. From a point of view of a man during that time period, she seemed to illustrate all of the wrongs that men found in women. Such as a weak parody of what men, then saw as feminists. The Wife of Bath constantly emphasizes the negative implications of women throughout the ages. She describes women as greedy, controlling, and dishonest.
Many critics throughout the years have given the Wife of Bath a title of that of a feminist. She is a strong-willed and dominant woman who gets what she wants when she wants it, by manipulating her husbands into feeling bad for things that they didn’t do, or by saying things that put them to utter shame. No man has ever been able to give an exact answer when she asks to know how many husbands a woman may have in her life...
The Wife of Bath upholds the misogynistic image of women for only one of many reason: she is controlling. She is a very forwardly dominant female, and she likes to be in control of her relationships. She shared in the prologue that she liked to govern her husbands according to the way she saw fit. She believes
Additionally, Wife of Bath’s idea and desire is for all women to achieve sovereignty which doesn’t necessarily mean that it won’t favor men. As you can see, the Wife acts as a feminist here. Although, Alison wants to have the power in the relationship, she b...
They are both told in ways that show differences between the husband and wife’s gender roles in a relationship and sovereignty. In the Wife of Bath’s “General Prologue”, Chaucer describes the wife differently than other characters to make her stand out and to draw the attention of his audience into the story. He describes the Wife as a self-confident, independent women who thinks highly of herself. The Wife of Bath’s independence and sovereignty over herself is what the Tale of the Wife of Bath is revolved around. Her previous marriages not only show off how scandalous she is, but they portray the idea that “romance is also about domination in regard to gender roles” (Sterling). The Tale reflects around the Wife’s personality in that it illustrates the idea of independence in women and brings to the audience what is almost a feminist story depicting sovereignty and power. Her occupation is what makes the Wife so respectable throughout her life, giving her a high social status and a high place in society. Power, one of the many themes in the Tale, is shown throughout the entire tale and has a significant meaning to the overall moral of the story. In the beginning of the Tale, a knight deprives a fair maiden of the power over her own body. When he goes on his journey to discover what women most desire, which happens to be power, he comes across a situation that deprives power
Leicester, Jr., H. Marshall. "Of a fire in the dark: Public and Private Feminism in the Wife of Bath's Tale." Women's Studies 11.1-2 (1985): 157-78.
The Wife of Bath has used men in her life for riches. She leans toward a feminist nature and seems resentful toward most men. For women, she is easy to respect and admire. She is an intelligent woman, however, she may not know the limits of her games. That is the beauty of society. Thousands of years after this novel has been written, men and women still don not know what one another want. In taking both Psychology and Sociology this year, I hope to grasp a better understanding on how both sexes co-exist with one another.
The Wife of Bath begins the prologue to her tale by boasting of her experience in marriage. She has married five men already, and ignores the idea that this is a reproach to Christian principles. She is merely adhering to the Christian principle of "be fruitful and multiply." She cites the case of King Solomon, who had multiple wives, and tells the group that she welcomes the opportunity for her sixth husband. She also points out that Jesus never lays down a law about virginity, and essentially states that we have the parts for sex and should use them as such. The Pardoner objects to the Wife of Bath's musings on marriage, but she decides to tell about each of her husbands. Three were good and two were young men. The good ones were kind, rich and old. She would withhold sex from the old ones to get the riches they might offer her. She would use guilt and jealousy against them, along with other manipulative techniques. Yet the fourth husband that she married was young. He was a reveler and had a mistress as well as a wife. He was a match for the Wife of Bath, sharing some of the similar qualities, but he soon died. The fifth husband was the most cruel to her, kind in bed but otherwise violent. He had been a student at Oxford, and came to be a boarder at the home of the Wife's best friend, Alison, while she was still married to husband number four. Soon after he died, she married Jankin, who was, at twenty, half the Wife's age. She gave him all of the property she owned, but he never let her have her way. Once he struck her so hard on the ear that she lost hearing simply because she tore a page from one of his books. He would cite examples fro...
Leicester, Jr., H. Marshall. "Public and Private Feminism in the Wife of Bath's Tale." Women's Studies 11.1-2 (1985): 157-78.
The character of the Wife of Bath in Chaucer's The Wife of Bath's Prologue is a strong woman who knows what she wants from life. She is ahead of her time, seeing that women who portrayed themselves the way she does were not necessarily looked positively upon. In this sense, I believe that the Wife of Bath is a feminist. When I use the word feminist I do not mean bra-burning, men hating feminist. I mean a woman who is in touch with herself. She is her own genre when it comes to feminism. She is comfortable with her sexuality and what she wants from life. Through Chaucer, she is viewed as a promiscuous; however, she is actually in control of her sexual adventures.
The Wife of Bath’s insecurity and cynicism are just two of the ways in which she fulfils negative stereotypes of women. She tries to separate herself from other women of her time by taking control of her life by means of sex, but if she were truly progressive, she would have found a way to elevate herself without using her body. Alisoun is exactly what men fear and dislike about women; she is promiscuously sneaky, and she takes advantage of men. This is why while trying to present herself as strong and independent, her actions ultimately confirm misogynistic stereotypes of women; in the end, she is even more digressive to the cause feminism than a normal woman would be.
The Wife of Bath is a very envious women, who desires only a few simple things in life. She likes to make mirror images of herself, through her stories, which in some way reflects the person who she really is. This is all proven through the many ways she portrays her characters.
The Wife of Bath The Wife of Bath:An Illusion of Reality When one thinks of marriage, the most common ideal is equality of control among man and woman. Chaucer incorporates two opposing viewpoints on marriage in The Canterbury Tales. The Wife of Baths tale, in which she says that one spouse, preferably the wife, must have mastery over the other. On the other hand, The Franklins tale disapproves of the Wife of Baths philosophy by saying that equality and trust are essential in holding a marriage together as expressed here: ....
The Wife of Bath represents the "liberal" extreme in regards to female stereotypes of the Middle Ages. Unlike most women being anonymous during the Middle Ages, she has a mind of her own and voices herself. Furthermore, she thinks extremely highly of herself and enjoys showing off her Sunday clothes whenever the opportunity arises. She intimidates men and women alike due to the power she possesses. Because of her obnoxious attitude Chaucer makes her toothless, fat and large. Doubtlessly, she is very ugly, almost to the point of "not-presentable. This to me shows how Chaucer depicts what men don't want. The Prioress, on the other hand, serves as a foil to the Wife of Bath. Chaucer describes her as "tender-hearted" who cannot bear the sight of pain or physical suffering. She will cry at the thought of a dog dying. It could represent that she has a frail soul with low tolerance for pain and suffering. The latter description carries over into the modern stereotypes about women as skittish and afraid members of society who need to be cared for.
Unlike the Pardoner, the Wife of Bath is celebrated for her actions, despite her queerness. For example, in the introductory material to The Riverside Chaucer, the Wife of Bath is revered for her unique qualities: “Moreover, though most of her characteristics can be traced in anti-feminine satire and she herself embodies almost all the faults traditionally imputed to women…her frankness, vigor, and good humor render her a zestful and engaging defender of life itself” (11). Accordingly, The Wife of Bath may not have been a typically feminine character, but that may be her greatest attribute. The Wife of Bath may still face the countless limitations imposed upon women in the Middle Ages; however, because of her promiscuity and manipulation of men, she is has been able to make her own fortune and acquire freedom to travel unaccompanied. Thus, when comparing her rich, though violent, character to the weaker Pardoner, Chaucer appears more sympathetic towards the queerness of the Wife of
The Wife of Bath is predominantly known for controversial views and her rebellious actions towards the traditional social expectations of women regarding sex and marriage. Therefore, by Chaucer highlighting the issues of mandatory lifelong celibacy for widows and women only being able to have sex for procreation, he is inviting the audience members to embark on the bigger picture of the unfairness and repression of sexuality for women in marriage. The Wife of Bath discloses that for her first three marriages she sought out older wealthy men for sex and
Women have the ability to get what they want, when they want it. Chaucer portrays the Wife of bath as the dominant person in her marriages. She looks at men as her trinkets to be used and played with. She moves from one man to another, always looking for more. The Wife of Bath is a control freak, wanting to have sex when she desires it and with whom she desires.