More handpicked essays just for you.
Women's role in society during the canterbury tales
Feminist theory the canterbury tales
Womens suffering theme in the canterbury tales
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The Wife of Bath
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.
Virtually everything the Wife of Bath does or says regarding different aspects of her life demonstrates that she is very insecure about herself. She begins her prologue by informing the travelers that she has the authority to argue about and discuss marriage because of her experiences: “Experience, though noon auctori...
... middle of paper ...
...ies that Alisoun does not believe that men are trustworthy or honorable, and that she believes that men only care about the superficial aspects of life, such as having a young, beautiful wife.
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 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...
a beautiful woman, but her character is forceful and exuberant. The Wife of Bath is one
Women have played a significant role throughout time and this is portrayed in many works of literature, including Thousand and One Nights and the Canterbury Tales. In both of these works, women are shown to be very intelligent, experienced, manipulative, lovers, and fighters. Women since the beginning have been thought to be liars and both characters in Thousand and One Nights and the Canterbury Tales have all these characteristics and similar themes. The main characters are Shahrazad and the Wife of Bath, Shahrazad is fighting to live while the Wife of Bath is simply on a journey playing a story telling game. Although in very different situations they both have the same strengths and similar characteristics, and this adds up to show the role of women at the current time of the works and now.
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.
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.
Leicester, Jr., H. Marshall. "Public and Private Feminism in the Wife of Bath's Tale." Women's Studies 11.1-2 (1985): 157-78.
However, which powers exactly is the Wife of Bath talking about? It seems that materialistic power is what Alisoun means - women wish to control their husbands' estates and other economic holdings. In her "Prologue" the Wife of Bath describes her last, fifth, marriage to Janekin. After a huge fight with him, caused by Alisoun's ripping pages out of his book of wicked wives, Janekin grants her the control over the house and the land, what makes her very happy, and she treats her husband with kindness from then on:
It was common at the time these texts were written for males to describe women in a similar manner, often relegating them to the traditional status of powerless, dutiful, and housebound. However, conversation between de Pizan and Lady Reason contradicts this as Lady Reason provides examples of women who have held similar positions as men and been equally as successful in their endeavors. Lady Reason states to de Pizan, “Believe me, many crucial and worthy arts and sciences have been discovered thanks to the ingenuity and cleverness of women…” (de Pizan), again reassuring de Pizan of female equality amongst men. De Pizan, however does not place emphasis upon the idea of promoting feminism at the expense of men, such as is evident in Arisophanes’ Lysistrata. She, instead, prioritizes her plan to erase the opinionated differences between men and women in order to reveal a truthful image of the human experience. Likewise, Geoffrey Chaucer, in “The Wife’s Bath’s Prologue,” contends that while men are viewed as superior beings in society, women possess similar characteristics that motion for the equality of genders. Chaucer effectively instills actions of cunning and deceit to reveal the superior abilities women hold over men that were never written about in men’s tales. The Wife takes clear advantage of men’s fears and weaknesses in order to gain
Judgment is necessary for the self-preservation of humans solely when applied with original intent; however, overused and abused, judgment can mutate into prejudice. Frequently, openly addressing the issues of prejudice is more effective than suppressing it, facilitating optimum understanding while enabling capacity for change. Successfully employed, satire may enlighten hearts and minds to the ridiculousness of prejudice, while opportunely comical. Humorously, Alison exhibits loquaciousness, manipulation, sexual incontinence, indecisiveness, deceitfulness, and countless additional stereotypes in the prologue and tale, while she clarifies that sovereignty over husbands is the exclusive womanly desire. Auspiciously, Geoffrey Chaucer’s theme illustrates the absurdity of female stereotypes by utilizing satirical expression, ironically upholding the irrational presence of misogynistic
“The Wife of Bath’s Tale” in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer is a story about a widow who took a pilgrimage to the town of Canterbury with an array of dynamic characters whose diverse backgrounds allowed them to share their stories with one another to make the long journey more interesting. The widow named Alisoun in the “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” told the tale of her experiences with her five past husbands and a story about a knight and a witch. She truly believed that for a woman to have a happy life she would need to gain dominion over a man; however one could assume this was programmed into her by her influential mother and her own religious doctrines. Accordingly, Alisoun argued that the woman must control everything in order to have a happy marriage; however, her life experience and the story she shared should tell her otherwise.
In the 14th century Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, which included a progressive view of women's concerns in "The Wife of Bath." During a time when women were still considered chattel existing almost exclusively to produce heirs, Chaucer takes a stand on issues affecting women that were not commonly given consideration. Writing in the first person, Chaucer is able to describe life from the viewpoint of a woman. Through this style, Chaucer addresses subject matter that would have been too candid for a female writer during his time period. By writing "The Wife of Bath" in a satirical way, Chaucer points out issues facing women regarding double standards, the validity of female desire, and the economic necessity of women to marry well while keeping the text humorous with some common female stereotypes regarding deception that have persisted into present day culture.
The wife of bath strongly argued in favour of female “maistrye.” She argued this in the prologue and used the tale to bring the message home. Her arguments are weakened however by the destructive and careless behaviour of the Wife of Bath. She openly laughs at them (“I laugh whan I thinke”) when she thinks of how she made her husbands toil at night. She doesn’t seem to regret the...
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.
Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” is an important part of his most famed work, The Canterbury Tales. One of the most respected highly analyzed of all of the tales, this particular one is important both for its character development and its prevailing themes. It seamlessly integrates ideas on society at that time with strong literary development. This work stands the test of time both because of its literary qualities and because of what it can teach us about the role of women in late Medieval society.