Chaucer's Canterbury Tales Essay - The Strong Wife of Bath
analytical Essay
1101 words
The Strong Wife of Bath
Alison of Bath as a battered wife may seem all wrong, but her fifth husband, Jankyn, did torment her and knock her down, if not out, deafening her somewhat in the process. Nevertheless, the Wife of Bath got the upper hand in this marriage as she had done in the other four and as she would probably do in the sixth, which she declared herself ready to welcome. Alison certainly ranks high among women able to gain control over their mates.
The Wife of Bath's personality, philosophy of sexuality, and attitude toward sovereignty in marriage obviously are offered as comedy. When Chaucer's short poem addressed to Bukton, who is about to marry, recommends that he read the Wife of Bath regarding "The sorwe and wo that is in mariage" (ed. Benson, p. 655), he has to mean the domination, real or attempted, or the nagging, of the husband by the wife, that is sure to follow his wedding. Why else recommend the Wife of Bath for the edification of a bridegroom-to-be? And how could such an admonition be meant as anything but jest?
The Bukton piece leaves Chaucer's present-day audience wondering whether he and Philippa, married in 1366, had lived happily ever after. Unfortunately, the Chaucer Life-Records tell us nothing personal such as this. As for Chaucer himself, although he uses the autobiographical first person pronoun, his allusions to domineering and/or nagging wives are presented through the voices of his persona and of the pilgrim narrators of the Canterbury Tales, of whom the persona is one, all as likely to be fiction as to be fact. Chaucer remains inscrutable regarding his own marriage.
What, then, are we to make of the Bukton piece; of Alison of Bath and her anti-Pauline vi...
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...st wife in the world. One would expect the married men hearing this to chuckle. But, needless to say, Chaucer's audience included women as well. In that day, when all marriage was Pauline at least in theory, and permanent sacramentally as well as legally, both "archwives" and "sklendre" had promised to obey. Women could join the laughter at this old chestnut because the shrew was some other woman. Of course good Christian wives never nagged their husbands.
Works Cited
Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Riverside Chaucer. Ed. Larry D. Benson. 3rd edn. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987.
Crow, Martin M., and Clair C. Olson, eds. Chaucer Life-Records. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966.
Skeat, Walter W., ed. Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer. 2nd ed. 6 vols. Oxford: Clarendon, 1899; rpt. 1972.
Woolf, Rosemary. The English Mystery Plays. Berkeley: U of California P, 1972.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how chaucer had audience awareness as a reporter of the human condition. he could expect married men, and bukton, to share the great joke of matrimony, gender-based and misogynistic.
- Describes chaucer, geoffrey, and larry d. benson's the riverside chauce.
- Explains that skeat, walter w., ed. complete works of geoffrey chaucer. oxford: clarendon, 1899.
- Analyzes how the wife of bath's personality, philosophy of sexuality, and attitude toward sovereignty in marriage are offered as comedy.
- Explains that chaucer's persona is not silent on the subject in this vein. he quotes, with an innuendo most scholars since skeat have taken as domestic, "awak,' to me he sayde,/ ryght in the same vois and stevene" (ii.56062).
- Opines that chaucer's envoy is merely advising the shrews to fight back, not just against their persecutors, as did the wife of bath, but against clerks who write bad stories about women.
Related
- analytical
- Comparing The Wife of Bath and The Canterbury Talesanalytical essayLooking back through many historical time periods, people are able to observe the fact that women were generally discriminated against and oppressed in almost any society. However, these periods also came with women that defied the stereotype of their sex. They spoke out against this discrimination with a great amount of intelligence and strength with almost no fear of the harsh consequences that could be laid out by the men of their time. During the Medieval era, religion played a major role in the shaping of this pessimistic viewpoint about women. The common belief of the patriarchal-based society was that women were direct descendants of Eve from The Bible; therefore, they were responsible for the fall of mankind. All of Eve’s characteristics from the biblical story were believed to be the same traits of medieval women. Of course, this did not come without argument. Two medieval women worked to defy the female stereotype, the first being the fictional character called The Wife of Bath from Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. The second woman, named Margery Kempe, was a real human being with the first English autobiography written about her called The Book of Margery Kempe. In these two texts, The Wife of Bath and Margery Kempe choose to act uniquely compared to other Christians in the medieval time period because of the way religion is interpreted by them. As a result, the women view themselves as having power and qualities that normal women of their society did not.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that women were discriminated against and oppressed in society, but they defied the stereotype of their sex, and spoke out against it with intelligence and strength.
- Analyzes the background of both the wife of bath and margery kempe's stories. the rebellious woman tells her story, defending herself in respect to the obscene amount of marriages.
- Analyzes how chaucer gives the wife of bath a rebellious personality that can be felt. the sanctity of marriage that she destroys with her prologue helps define who she is.
- Analyzes how margery kempe differs from chaucer's wife of bath in terms of personality, but she is similar to the character of the archbishop of york.
- Analyzes how chaucer's prologue and kempe’s autobiography give readers an insight into how women were beginning to challenge the christian church during medieval times.
- States that boardman, phillip c., enduring legacies: ancient and medieval cultures, 6th ed.
- Explains that boardman, phillip c., "margery kempe (c. 1373-1439)," enduring legacies: ancient and medieval cultures.
1115 wordsRead More - The One and Only Wife of Bathanalytical essayIn the Wife of Baths Prologue, her true colors unfurl which gives the reader the sense of who the Wife of Bath is and where her mind is in terms of the gender inequality. Her prologue also lays down the path to the direction her tale is going to go. The wife of Bath makes it clear that more than anyone it is her that has experience in the field of marriage just from her tone one can see she is a woman with a desire for authority. The Wife's Prologue is the framework that allows room for making distinctions on all the issue women in the Middle Ages face and indeed with her hearty an well define details she is left to be an unforgettable icon of the Canterbury tales . It is suspected that the Wife of Bath feels strongly on the notion...
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how chaucer uses the wife of bath as a representation of what it was like for women in the middle ages to be striped of equality and bow to the otherwise male dominated society.
- Analyzes how the wife of bath's prologue captures a prime image of who she truly is and the society women are dealing with.
- Analyzes how the wife of bath expands on what was said about women and negative connotations that are placed upon them.
- Analyzes how the symbolism of bread stands out in the wife of bath's prologue. she uses different types of flours to project the imagery of aging.
- Analyzes how chaucer uses the wife of bath to take a stab at the condition of knights and order of "chivalry".
- Analyzes how the queen's role in the story is similar to that of the wife of bath.
- Analyzes how the wife of bath kicks dirt on the cliché idea of women as an obedient figure to man.
- Analyzes how chaucer allows the tale to project the courage of women as well as in a biblical sense.
- Analyzes how griselda in "the scholar's tale" is not as defiant as the wife of bath. chaucer sends a subliminal message by stating for the wives to take control for themselves and their marriages.
- Analyzes how chaucer's "the reeves tale" depicts a society where men saw women as personal property and replaced them as objects.
- Analyzes how the remedy of the seven deadly sins is introduced at the very end of all the pilgrims' tales.
- Analyzes how chaucer's "marriage groups" (kittredge) illustrates the unfairness of society towards women in marriage.
- Analyzes how the wife of bath compliments chaucer's modernistic way of thinking in terms of women and their roles. it shows the disconnection between women, society and christianity.
2763 wordsRead More - The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chauceranalytical essayMiller, Robert P., ed. Chaucer Soucers and Backgrounds. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977. Print.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how chaucer interrogates the stereotypes in his tales from the aspects of these two genders.
- Analyzes how chaucer's tales are based on chivalric values. chivalry demands men to have courtesy, truthfulness, and loyalty and behave as a good servant to their kingdom.
- Analyzes chaucer's attitude about gender stereotypes of female, stating that women are rarely characterised as an individual group, but largely on the basis of their relationship with men.
- Analyzes how gender stereotypes of female are a portrait of women from men's perspective. the typical image of "wicked wife" reveals men’s criticism against women.
- Analyzes how chaucer challenges gender stereotypes of women through questioning their properness.
- Analyzes how dorigen weeps for being trapped in the dilemma that she has to follow her words and betrays her husband.
- Analyzes how chaucer's image of the wife is a powerful challenge against gender stereotypes of women in the middle ages.
- Analyzes how chaucer describes her as an attractive woman in the general prologue. she exploits her gender advantage to manipulate men with her sexual attraction within marriage.
- Analyzes how the wife seeks dominance over men in her life, but the ending of her story is worth rethinking.
- Concludes that chaucer's interrogation of gender stereotypes in his tales reflects his understanding of the role of male and female in medieval society.
- Explains miller, robert p., ed. chaucer soucers and backgrounds. new york: oxford university press, 1977.
- Analyzes how the wife overturns male and female positions in marriage and opposes moral requirements for women.
2071 wordsRead More - The Wife Of Bath In Chaucer's The Canterbury Talesanalytical essayThe Wife of Bath is one of the most famous characters within Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. In her prologue, it is quickly made clear that she has had a lot of husbands and by a lot I mean five. Since she has all this experience with men, The Wife of Bath dedicates her prologue to describing how each of her marriages went. In her five marriages she has been accused of lusting too much, to being too controlling, and being abused. While some good husbands were good and some were bad, The Wife of Bath depicts a solid image of her feelings toward men. In her relationships, she must always have the upper hand. She is the type of woman who gets what she wants when she wants it. While describing one of her marriages, The Wife of Bath explains how
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the wife of bath depicts a solid image of her feelings toward men, including power, femininity, and the importance of appearance.
- Analyzes how the knight holds power over the woman in which he raped and presents himself in front of a court full of powerful women. the queen and her ladies decide to give him one year to find the answer to her question.
- Narrates how the knight decides to ask the ugly hag for help after almost a year of searching for an answer to his wife's request of payment.
- Analyzes how the knight gives up his power to solve the queen's riddle, the hag, and the ugly hag for the rest of his life. the story must end in a happy way to please the audience
- Analyzes how the wife of bath does a great job of bringing the role of femininity into play without her interjections.
- Analyzes how the role of appearance is a big theme in both the wife of bath's prologue and tale.
- Analyzes how the knight doesn't want to marry the hag for her age and appearance, but she wants to be loved and respected. the wife of bath uses this theme wisely.
- Analyzes how the wife of bath packs a great deal of information into her prologue and tale. the themes of appearance and femininity follow under the main section of power.
1765 wordsRead More - The Characters in The Canterbury Talesanalytical essayChaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales: Riverside Chaucer Third Edition. Ed. Larry D. Benson. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company,1987. 3-328 Secondary
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how chaucer sets the mood by providing an overall idea of the type of character who is telling the tale, then allows that character to introduce themselves through a personal prologue and finally, the pilgrim tells their tale.
- Analyzes how the miller's physical descriptions were believed to denote a shameless, talkative, lecherous, and quarrelsome character. his personality is also depicted as being very loud and disturbing.
- Analyzes how the narrator urges the reader to find another tale to read before they are offended and waste their time listening to the miller.
- Analyzes how the color of her stockings, in particular, is significant, since, like the miller, her face is also described as "reed of hewe"
- Analyzes how the wife of bath loses control of her fifth husband, jankyn, and uses it to manipulate him into giving her back her property.
- Analyzes how the altercation ends the difficulties that the wife of bath was having getting along with her husband.
- Analyzes how the merchant, like the miller, is described as a devilish man with "forked berd" in "the general prologue." he is distinguished by his views on marriage, which compliment his business sense.
- Compares "the merchants tale" to "wife of bath" because the main character, januarie, is blind to many aspects of what the merchant feels are problems with women.
- Analyzes how chaucer describes the miller as having a "thombe of gold" in "the general prologue." the miller's appearance after the more solemn knight creates contrast in mood.
- Analyzes how the color red in the miller's face and hair can be interpreted in two different ways. it creates a comical mood around him that is carried by the reader into his tale.
- Analyzes how chaucer's advice to turn away from the story is enticing the reader and piquing their curiosity about the tale that the miller is eager to share.
- Analyzes how beidler asserts that the word large can be interpreted as an adverb rather than an adjective.
- Analyzes how the wife of bath has adapted herself to the role of a wife and uses her feminine powers to gain an advantage over him. the knight shows little respect for women in the beginning of the story.
- Analyzes how the merchant, like the wife of bath, uses his tale and prologue to offer his opinion of love and marriage.
- Analyzes how chaucer uses the pilgrims as instruments to illustrate a network of interlocking stories within the larger work.
- Describes chaucer's canterbury tales, including his 'foot-mantel', and irma taavitsainen.
4004 wordsRead More - Wife of Bath in Chaecer's Canterbury Talesanalytical essayIn the Canterbury Tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer the story tells about men and women going on pilgrimages, among them the Wife of Bath in search of her 6th husband, who go on a journey to pay their respect to Sir Thomas á Becket. During the story the Wife of Bath strongly expresses herself as a very strong woman and knows what she expects with the men shes with. As well as this, with all her beauty and respect she was given in life the Wife of Bath displays herself highly. Finally, she ideals her actions with the knowledge she knows from the Bible. Therefore, because of her control, beauty, and knowledge the Wife of Bath is a woman that most women would look up to.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how chaucer's canterbury tales tells about men and women going on pilgrimages, among them the wife of bath in search of her 6th husband, who goes on a journey to pay respect to sir thomas á becket.
- Analyzes how chaucer expresses the sexual, as well as, the controlling side of the wife of bath, which also shows the unrealistic expectations she brought forth.
- Analyzes how the wife of bath flaunted herself and was proud of what she had. chaucer protrayed her having elegance when she was young and full of wantonness.
- Analyzes how the wife of bath's story shows her pride in herself and her knowledge of christian beliefs and the bible.
901 wordsRead More - Common Sense, Ethics, and Dogma in The Wife of Bathanalytical essayMandell, Jerome. Geoffrey Chaucer : building the fragments of the Canterbury tales. N.J. : Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1992.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the language of this passage is strikingly similar to the hag’s confirmation of her knight's concession and their resultant bliss
- Analyzes how eisner discounts motifs (c, d, and e), discards (f) and acknowledges only a cursory resemblance in motif (h).
- Analyzes how eisner's "new" motifs can be attributed to the theme of the hunt, which he prematurely dismisses.
- Analyzes the specific nature of the choice, addressing eisner's motif (g), is unique in alice’s story as well.
- Analyzes how the choice of pride vs. passion presupposes the dominion of the lover/husband. the choice the hag poses is a much more powerful, complex dilemma.
- Analyzes how the inexorable relationship between the hag and the knight is central to the tale.
- Analyzes how magic is "intrinsic" to the hag's role. alice regrets the loss of magic in the world and casts aspersion on the church’s inauthentic, arbitrary dogma and ritual.
- Opines that the wife doesn't respect the church, as we are told in the narrator's profile.
- Analyzes how the wife of bath concludes her tale with a powerful prayer, reiterating her ethical lessons.
- Analyzes how alice illustrates the theme of overpowering, or failing to yield to women, in her prologue recounting her history with her fifth husband, and in a strongly didactic tale that parallels her own.
- Describes chaucer, geoffrey, "the wife of bath's prologue and tale." from the riverside, third edition, ed. larry d. benson.
- Analyzes how chaucer's canterbury tales assembles pilgrims who engage in a story-telling contest along their route. the pitting of tales one against another reveals the interpersonal dynamics of the societal microcosm.
- Analyzes how the hag corrects the knight's errant perception that gentility is his birthright in the telling of the wife of bath.
- Analyzes the use of the term ‘maistrie’, or ‘dominion’ in both accounts, and the concession to ‘chese and governe as me lest’.
- Analyzes how sovereignty, or dominion, is central to the wife of bath's tale as it explores the question of "maistree."
- Analyzes how alice and chaucer value religious truth only to the point that it is justified through practical, rational analysis. alice's tale is carefully carved from the source material to serve her didactic purpose.
- Explains eisner, sigmund, and mandell, jerome. geoffrey chaucer : building the fragments of the canterbury tales.
3341 wordsRead More - Vision, Truth, and Genre in the Merchant's Taleanalytical essayLevy, Bernard. "The Meanings of The Merchant's Tale." Chaucer and the Craft of Fiction. Ed. Leigh Arrathoon. Rochester, MI: Solaris, 1986. 385-403.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how chaucer's destabilization of genre seems to call representation itself into question. the story deals with images that are more unsettling than standard fabliau fare.
- Analyzes how the mirror challenges the link between representation and truth. it is a metaphorical space in which january can appraise both physical beauty and reputation.
- Analyzes how january's blindness challenges notions of representation by stretching the limits of the fabliau genre.
- Analyzes how pluto and prosperpyna argue like medieval christian scholastics in the middle of a fabliau. the scene of discovery and un-discovery is rife with biblical parallels.
- Analyzes how chaucer's stretching of the fabliau genre and the role of stories in the text call attention to the malleability of representations.
- Analyzes how adam and eve eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which gives them greater powers of perception but also causes their expulsion from paradise. the merchant's tale challenges the idea of truthful representation.
- Describes chaucer, geoffrey, fichte, joerg, and bernard levy. the merchant's tale and the craft of fiction.
1443 wordsRead More - In The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, Chaucer’s real opinions about marriage and relationships between men and women are shown. Marriage is an institution viewed upon in many different ways. Some believe it is a consecrated union of two people in order to procreate. On the other hand, there are those who look at it as a social contract which often binds two people that are not necessarily right for each other. Chaucer combines these two beliefs into one major belief. Chaucer seems to look at marriage as an obligation that is constantly dominated by one of its two members, this view being shown in the prologues and tales of the Clerk, the Wife of Bath, and the Miller.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how chaucer's real opinions about marriage and relationships between men and women are shown in the canterbury tales.
- Analyzes how the marquis, walter, places his newly wed wife, griselde, through a series of tests to prove that she truly loved him and that he had control over her.
- Warns people to be ready to obey my lightest whim and pleasure; they must show a willing heart, ungrudging night or day whether i please to offer joy or woe.
- Analyzes how chaucer shows that one must have dominion in order to have a marriage and the significant other must realize this as well. the marquis tests her vow multiple times to see if she truly wants to be in alliance with him.
- Analyzes how the wife of bath's tale and prologue show an opposite position to the clerk’s tale. through obstinacy, she declares that a wife will achieve sovereignty in marriage.
- Analyzes how chaucer's view on marriage is that both sides can't have power or the relationship is unequal.
- Analyzes how chaucer exhibits many views through the selection of tales, but dominance by the husband or wife is a prominent theme throughout the tale.
781 wordsRead More - Women And Women In Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Talesanalytical essayThe debate of which individual should have the authority in a marriage, the man or the woman, is a topic that has remained unanswered for centuries. While he does not solve this debate, Geoffrey Chaucer attempts to unpack the different elements that factor into it. In Canterbury Tales, primarily in the prologue of the Wife of Bath and both tales of the Wife of Bath and the Clerk, Chaucer displays different types of marriages. These marriages analyze how a man or woman can gain authority over the other. These marriages vary in terms of their dynamics due to the unique individuals and their environments. Through an analysis of the marriages depicted by Chaucer in the prologue and tales of the Clerk and the Wife of Bath, one can see the different
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes chaucer's depiction of different types of marriages in canterbury tales and the wife of bath.
- Analyzes how chaucer uses physical violence towards his wife and her loved ones in order to gain authority in the marriage. the marquis takes away griselda's daughter and son.
- Analyzes how the marquis' superiority complex is evident even before marrying griselda.
- Analyzes how chaucer uses the analogy of hunting in the clerk's tale to emphasize griselda as an inferior being.
- Analyzes how chaucer makes the analogy between the marquis and god from the old testament to emphasize griselda's superiority over abraham.
- Analyzes how the marquis seeks a compliant wife who will not confront him if he uses physical violence towards her. griselda is meek in character and is the perfect candidate to be his wife.
- Analyzes how the fifth husband of the wife of bath, jenkin, uses physical violence in an attempt to gain authority over her.
- Explains that unlike men, women cannot gain authority through physical violence in a marriage. the wife of bath tries to gain control over jenkin by using violence, but fails miserably.
- Describes the wife of bath as a gap-toothed, and an extremely sexual female. she uses her sexualized body to control her husband.
- Analyzes how chaucer implies that griselda does not have a maternal figure while she is growing up. without being taught the necessary skills to become sexually dominant, she becomes submissive.
- Analyzes how a woman can gain authority over her husband through the art of speech in the wife of bath's prologue and tale.
- Explains that even if a woman is not physically attractive, she can manipulate men's free will to gain authority in the marriage. in the wife of bath, the knight unhappily marries an old hag.
- Analyzes how the knight voluntarily decides to give the hag control over his decision, given that a woman's greatest desire is to have control.
- Analyzes how chaucer examines the different ways a man or woman can gain power in their marriage.
2374 wordsRead More