David And Bathsheba

Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba are the four women that Matthew listed in the genealogy of Jesus. These four women were considered to have bad reputations in the biblical days. Tamar was a widow who has sex with her father –in-law, Rahab was a hooker from Jericho, Ruth sneaked into a sleeping man’s bed, and Bathsheba was a married woman who had an affair. (Miller, 2009). Bible scholars has questioned why would Matthew mentioned these women when it came to Jesus’ genealogy, especially when he was looked at in this perfect image. The textbook mentions three popular theories as to why these women were discussed in the genealogy. Firsthand, “Matthew chose these women not because of their merits, but because of their sin; secondly, as foreigners,

Uriah refused to go home to his wife, so David sent Uriah to the front lines of battle, where he was killed. David then married Bathsheba. When confronted by Nathan the prophet, David admitted his sin. In punishment, Bathsheba’s child died and David was cursed with the promise of a rebellion from within his own house. Bathsheba and David soon conceived a second son, Solomon.

As previously mentioned, the male gaze is a chaotic force with very ways to stop it. One such method is that a woman typically has to turn the idea on its head and give the patriarchy a taste of its own medicine. Bathsheba employs this method several times in the course of the novel. It is especially prevalent in her relationship with Boldwood. For instance, consider when she contemplates sending him a valentine:

There are over three hundred women mentioned in the Bible ("Women in the Scriptures: How Many Women Would You Guess Are in the Scriptures?"). Many of these women contributed large parts to stories in the Bible. Esther and Ruth from the Old Testament, and Mary Magdalene and Joanna from the New Testament, are women who played important roles in the Bible.

Of whom i have picked out the very best, for both their nether purse and money chest."(The wife of Bath’s 44-46) during that time people belief was that widows should not remarried but become nuns or stay single for the rest of their lifetime, something that did not sit well with Bath's wife which is when she turned to the bible to try and make a good argument on her case she cited the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman when Jesus met her by the well; Bath's wife said "Except i ask, why is the fifth man Was not a husband to the Samaritan? How many might she have in marriage yet I have never heard tell in all my age about this any number definite. (The wife of Bath's 21-24) Bath's wife argument was that if the bible did not mention an exact number of how many times she could be married then it meant that it was not a sin for her to do so. The wife of Bath's does sound like she was really a sinful and lustful woman specially when she says "I'll tell the truth; those husband that i had, Some three of them were good, and two were bad...So help me God, I laugh to remember How pitiful a night I made them labor! (The wife of Bath's 201-208) she saw marriage and sex as a business transaction. In this tale I was able to see that sin was really looked down on, which is probably why she felt the need to explain herself, when people heard this tale they

He told the oldest women of the group, “my life’s to pay, that’s all too certain, if I cannot say what women covet most.” (927) He used the women out of dishonor and disrespect to get what he needed. As he and the old women go and tell the Queen the answer the old women gave him he was granted his life, but the old women begged him to marry her, and he replied “that was my promise, it must be confessed. For the love of God, choose a new request.” (928) Even after all the women had done for him, by giving him his life he is still not grateful anymore then he was when the queen granted him the favor. This story the Wife of Bath told was not about heroism, more so there is not a hero in every story and there is not always a good guy. Sometimes the main character is just as messed up as the villain would be.

One main theme in “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” is female dominance and equality. In the tale, the wife portrays her dominance through her own experience. For example, the image of the whip sets her role as master, and she tells everyone that she is the head of her household. Despite her claim that experience is her sole power, the Wife of Bath evidently feels the need to create her authority in a more scholarly manner. She mimics the habits of the scholars and churchmen by supporting her claims with quotations from antique works and scripture.

The answer to the question, (which is given to him by an old woman), is that women desire to be masters of their husbands. This fits with her attitude toward marital relationships, because in all of her marriages her one goal was to obtain sovereignty over all of her husbands. In fact she stated that a good husband does whatever she wants him to do. Her tale is about loyalty and romance, which is something she constantly spoke of in her prologue, so her tale is definitely fitting with her personality. The Wife of Bath is all about love, loyalty, and control, and so is her

1B: The Wife of Bath’s story expressed the role of a woman in a male dominated world that possessed characteristics of the opposite gender. It is a very interesting self-described story of her expertise of marriage, boasting of her manipulative submission of men; she was able to convey dominance but also often contradicted herself through personal descriptions and her tale, which consequently reverts to the male oriented nature of the era. Alison, the wife, constructs her reputation as the expert of marriage by detailing her relationships with her husband. She proudly reflects of her control over these men, the power she holds however, is built through deceit. The Wife of Bath story, in the end, reverts to the patriarchal society in which a female’s primary role is to see to the needs of men.

It is strange to me to see how a woman of the fourteenth century was able to act the way she did. Back then, women had no rights; they had arranged marriages; and they could not say anything about it. Men were superior and dominated women. The way the Wife of Bath acted in the fourteenth century is more the way the women act today in the twentieth century

Medieval societies were, without a doubt, patriarchal. Although the Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale provides a unique fictional account that seems to go against the norm of the time, it actually—to a certain extent—accurately illustrates the way in which the patriarchal society affects the relationship between men and women. In both the prologue and the tale, what modern day readers would consider as “abusive” and “despicable” men are present in the story; Jankin both physically and verbally abused Alisoun, and the Knight raped a woman. Both were, in the end, given a second chance and forgiven once they gave up their misogynistic ways and allowed for the women to have “maistrie.” This is a feat that would not have been as easily accomplished in modern days, as the

Her self-proclaimed wisdom and experience makes her justly and to a certain extent credible enough to stand in the position that she does that is as heroine of her time. The Wife of Bath's Prologue is lengthy but everything said is important and captures a prime image of who the Wife of Bath truly is but also the society women are dealing with. Also her prologue retaliates against the problems of inferiority of women at hand. She does her best to defend herself for her life occurrences as well as preserving the merit of women. She explains "a sensible woman only busies herself to win love were there's none"(177), although one may say that this is a negative way for a woman to gain power .The positive note is that the wife of Bath cares to give the only advise she knows that has worked for her. The fact that the Wife of Bath cares about sharing advice in a sense that will cost women a chance to gain power ,cancels out the seven deadly sin of greed in her character.

The Wife of Bath's greedy need for complete control over men reflects in most of her actions. She seems proud of this, and constantly describes women as cruel creatures that bring great sorrow to men. When talking about her first three husbands, she says that she "governed them" (193), and "chided them cruelly" (193). She makes life for her husbands a living hell, having no respect for their feelings. Just like the women questioned in her story, she cares only for "riches...amusement...rich apparel...," to be "flattered and pampered," and for "pleasure in bed" (225). When talking of her first three marriages, she says: "Since they had given me all their land, why should I take pains to please them, unless it be for my own profit and pleasure" (192). In her story, the moral is that all women want to hold the whip in a relationship, and it is in the man's best interest to let them do so. The Wife of Bath is not a woman to be admired and, worst of all, she insists all

In the Wife of Bath’s prologue and tale, it is explicitly stated that the interaction between men and women is purely physical, and that all women want total control in their relationships because women always want what they don’t have. The Wife of Bath is a living example of the ideals put forth in her tale. She is a businesswoman who has enough money to live comfortably, and, at the time of her telling her tale, she is widowed. When peering into her past, we see that she was a child bride who is forced to rely on her wits and her body

We have heard the story of David and Bathsheba many, many times before; but have you ever thought of King David (man after God’s own heart) as being a sinful and wicked