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Marriage in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale
The disparity in the outcomes of the hag's marriage and Alison's marriages in Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale" depends in part on the women's differing expectations of their husbands. The hag's modus agendi depends on a knight's obligation to honour his pledge, whereas Alison's modus operandi depends on her husbands' conduct after marriage, i.e. on her circumstances. Having saved the knight's life, the hag asks the knight to permit her to be his wife. Moreover, she wants to be his love. The knight must marry, since marrying the hag lies within his might. Since the hag's definition of being his wife includes her loving him, he is duty-bound to tolerate the hag's love. Her love for him requires he show compassion to her. Perforce of her line of reasoning of the advantages of being married to her, he accepts her sovereignty to have her will. The chains of her enchantment broken, the hag turns beautiful in the knight's eyes. He falls in love with her, and she realizes the right to rule in he...
In "The Franklin's Tale", a young Breton Knight by the name of Arveragus marries a beautiful girl, Dorigen. Soon after their marriage, Arveragus is called to serve two years in the war in England. During Arveragus' leave, Dorigen is put through tests of her love for him. The two years without her husband and an obligated marriage in order to save Arveragus, tests Dorigen's love for him. Moreover, these trials strengthen the marriage and save it in the end. Dorigen is released from her obligation and the suitor claims: "I'll do without you, God above, Before I injure such a love." (p. 238). These tests Dorigen undergoes display her love for her husband. The trials result in a happy conclusion; in effect, resulting in the most reasonable solution to Chaucer's marriage debate. Conversely, in "The Clerk's Tale", Griselda, the wife of Walter, is put through a series of tests by her husband in efforts of testing her loyalty. Walter supposedly kills her children and he divorces her, sending her back home naked and penniless. Grise...
Each general that was appointed commander of the army in the east had his own plans when it came to defeating the Confederates. Beginning with McDowell, the first general to command a large army in the war, the task seemed insurmountable at first. He had an army of 30,000 men, most of whom were extremely green. Despite Lincoln’s desire that he attack immediately, McDowell knew that he wasn’t ready, and initially had no plans to move against the Confederates during that first summer of the war. Lincoln insisted that he attack at Manassas with the resulting disastrous outcome. Perhaps had McDowell came along later in the war, it might have turned out differently, but that wasn’t a likely outcome.
Some say women can get the worst out of a man, but in The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer in 1485, proves it. The tales were originally written as a collection of twenty four tales, but has been narrowed down to three short tales for high school readers. The three tales consist of “The Miller”, “The Knight”, and “The Wife of Bath” along with their respective prologues. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer shows the weak but strong role of women throughout the “The Knight’s Tale” and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” to contrast different human characteristics and stereotypes on the spectrum of people.
In the words of the Broadview Anthology’s introduction to the Wife of Bath, she is “a sexually experienced cynic who teaches young people the tricks of love…. The Wife’s history and the literary shape of her prologue conform to many of the traditional misogynistic stereotypes found in her husband’s book” (Broadview 298). Why would Chaucer write such a clever portrayal of personal pleasure through the eyes of a woman, and yet design her to possess every quality so despised and abhorred within her so-called lifetime? Because the audience of this poem would probably include wives, and because everything the Wife describes is almost laughably vulgar, it can be understood that this poem would not be interpreted literally and women would instead be forced to listen to an account about female power, desire, and pleasure written, unfortunately, as cruel satire of their
The whistle of dropping atomic bombs, the flash of nuclear explosion, the nightmare of Red boots marching across American soil. These are the horrors that Cold War American propaganda planted in the minds of the public. Through the use of posters, films, pamphlets, and a variety of other mediums, the U.S. government has always had an interest in the adherence of the general populace to perceived American values. This is most important during times of stress for the nation, such as war or international tension. Or as put by Professor of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins, Paul Linebarger, “Propaganda consists of the planned use of any form of public of mass-produced communication designed
Lincoln wanted to end the conflict quickly, which prompted his initial call for 75,000 volunteers, unfortunately for him the new volunteers, many of which had only enlisted for 90 days, only three months after the firing on Fort Sumter were much too green for the effort. Something their commander General Irvin McDowell was quite well aware of. Lincoln pushed McDowell to attack as soon as possible, so on July 21, 1861 the first major eastern battle of the Civil War started when McDowell sent ill trained, and poorly disciplined troops toward the Confederate forces drawn up along Bull Run Creek.. He initially wanted the attack to be a surprise, with the hope of t...
Chaucer's "The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale" is a medieval legend that paints a portrait of strong women finding love and themselves in the direst of situations. It is presented to the modern day reader as an early tale of feminism showcasing the ways a female character gains power within a repressive, patriarchal society. Underneath the simplistic plot of female empowerment lies an underbelly of anti-feminism. Sometimes this is presented blatantly to the reader, such as the case of Janekin's reading aloud from "The Book of Wikked Wives" (The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale 691). However, there are many other instances of anti-feminism that may not scream so loudly to the reader. This is shown in the disappearance of the rape victim and the happy ending for the Knight. While the overall story is one of supposed feminism shown through women's empowerment, there are many aspects of "The Wife of Bath" that are anti-feminist in nature.
...He longs to always have her. Chaucer’s view on marriage as shown in the Miller’s Tale is that both sides can’t have power or the marriage is unequal. One will fall if there is not one major person with the significant power in the relationship.
However, later, in her "Tale" the Wife of Bath presents another opinion - women wish to have emotional power over their husbands as well. The fact that the hag is able to decide for herself whether to turn into a beautiful wife or to remain in her present state, manifests her power over the husband. It is up to her whether to make the knight the happiest men on earth or to make him miserable for as long as she lives:
One of the most interesting and widely interpreted characters in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer is the Wife of Bath. She has had five different husbands and openly admits to marrying the majority of them for their money. The wife appears to be more outspoken and independent than most women of medieval times, and has therefore been thought to symbolize the cause of feminism; some even refer to her as the first actual feminist character in literature. Readers and scholars probably argue in favor of this idea because in The Canterbury Tales, she uniquely gives her own insight and opinions on how relations between men and women should be carried out. Also, the meaning of her tale is that virtually all women want to be granted control over themselves and their relationship with their husbands, which seems to convince people that the Wife of Bath should be viewed as some sort of revolutionary feminist of her time. This idea, however, is incorrect. The truth is that the Wife of Bath, or Alisoun, merely confirms negative stereotypes of women; she is deceitful, promiscuous, and clandestine. She does very little that is actually empowering or revolutionary for women, but instead tries to empower herself by using her body to gain control over her various husbands. The Wife of Bath is insecure, cynical towards men in general, and ultimately, a confirmation of misogynistic stereotypes of women.
“The noble knight slays the dragon and rescues the fair maiden…and they live happily ever after.” This seemingly cliché finale encompasses all the ideals of courtly love, which began in the Medieval Period and still exists today. While these ideals were prevalent in medieval society, they still existed with much controversy. Geoffrey Chaucer, a poet of the period, comments on courtly love in his work The Canterbury Tales. Through the use of satiric elements and skilled mockery, Chaucer creates a work that not only brought courtly love to the forefront of medieval society but also introduced feministic ideals to the medieval society. At times, Chaucer even makes readers question his beliefs by presenting contrasting elements of principle in The Knight’s Tale and The Wife of Bath’s Tale, both tales told in his profound, multifaceted The Canterbury Tales.
In Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath is a strong woman who loudly states her opinions about the antifeminist sentiments popular at the time. Chaucer, however, frequently discredits her arguments by making them unfounded and generally compromising her character. This brings into question Chaucer's political intent with the Wife of Bath. Is he supportive of her views, or is he making a mockery of woman who challenge the patriarchal society and its restriction and mistrust of women? The Wife's comedic character, frequent misquoting of authorities, marital infidelity, and her (as well as Chaucer's) own antifeminist sentiments weaken the argument that Chaucer supported of the Wife's opinions.
In Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, an eclectic mix of people gathers together at Tabard Inn to begin a pilgrimage to Canterbury. In the General Prologue, the readers are introduced to each of these characters. Among the pilgrims are the provocative Wife of Bath and the meek Pardoner. These two characters both demonstrate sexuality, in very different ways. Chaucer uses the Wife and the Pardoner to examine sexuality in the medieval period.
From this definition of media, it has certain wide effect and impact upon the audience to which it is addressed. The impact upon audience can be positive or negative. The positive impact can include educational information and knowledge on certain ideas, policies, laws, or even the current events. The negative impact can impair or damage the refutation of a person, or institution or an organization based on impression. Since the impact of the media can be dictated by the content it is aired or published, this was utilized during the cold war to enhance the campaign of socialism or communism and capitalism or democracy. Further, this essay will investigate into the effects of media during the cold war with the use of television, newspapers and radio broadcast in Russia and America.
Geoffrey Chaucer used his characters in Canterbury Tales as a way to illustrate stereotype of medieval society. The Wife of Bath, one of the pilgrims in Canterbury Tales demonstrates an authoritative role in marriage The Wife of Bath’s unusual behavior and attitudes can be interpreted by two motives: feminist ideals or sexual indulgence. When considering feminist viewpoints, it can be concluded that the Wife of Bath’s behavior is motivated by sexual indulgence.