Wife Of Bath's Tale

Though, she does with to have power in the relationship she hints at an even larger wish. She wishes for youth and love. Her love for her fifth husband supports this notion, she claims she married him for love and loved him best even though he beat her. His youthfulness made her feel young and when he submitted to her, they were faithful to each other and lived a happy life (Par 4). Another example of her desire for love and youth, was the ending of the tale.

Who is superior, man or woman? In “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”, situated in the 14th century, at this point in time there was a big difference in society between man and woman. Woman used to be the housekeepers, and did not have any independence from men. This aspect has been changing over the time as we get closer to the 21st century, women have been gaining respect and equality similar to men, and nowadays women can have the same jobs that men have.

that he never went to hell (272). She clearly valued sex as the most important attribute of a husband for, “…in our bed he was so fresh and gay….Heaven knows whenever he wanted it- my belle chose-, thought he had beaten me in every bone…”(272) Even though her final husband had beaten her, because he was good in bed with her she felt she loved him the best of them all (272). Clearly, The Wife of Bath valued three things in her marriages, sex, power, and money. In her tale we find that power is an important role to women in marriage. A knight, after raping a women is spared by a queen (282) but in order to save his life, he has one year (283) to find, “What is the thing that women most desire”(282)? After searching, he finds no answer but on his way home finds an old women who promises she will save him, he must promise to do what she asks of him after however, and he agrees (285). When he and the old lady meet with the queen, he exclaimed, “A women want’s the self-sovereignty over her husband as over her lover, and master him; he must not be above her” (286). This answer is perfectly inline with The Wife of Baths views, she always wants to be more powerful than her husband. When the old lady says he must marry her, he protests but soon she offers him two choices, he can have her be old and ugly till she dies, but loyal, or she can be young and pretty and take chance that she might not remain faithful (291). He gives his answer to be that she may choose, thus giving her the

Often at times people can feel disconnected from themselves, from the world, or even friends and families; Therefore, causing tension in relationships. Which was displayed in “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” when the knight searches all over the world to find out what women most desire in a man. Also in “One Amazing Thing” there are various stories from different characters that have had trouble with personal stories and how one gender or religious belief can be more dominate than the other.

In Geoffrey Chaucer's “The Wife of Bath’s Tale,” lines 956 though 988, the Wife of Bath tells the tale of Midas in a way to explain that women can hide nothing. In the Wife’s version of the tale Midas was hiding his two ass’s ears beneath his long hair to the best of his abilities. However, Midas did not attempt to keep this secret from his wife. He confided in her because he loved her most, and trusted her most. Midas begged and prayed to his wife that she tell no creature about his disfigurement. His wife in turn swore to him that she would not dishonor his trust, or sin, in order to save her husband's and her own reputation and name. However, from keeping such a large secret the Wife believed she would die if she did

"The Wife of Bath", in the collection of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, illustrates the stereotypical image of a women in medieval times ("The Portrayal of Gender in The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale.") The tale characterizes women as lustful and greedy burdens on men. However, to readers today, "The Wife of Bath" represents a strong minded feminist woman who is confident and open about her sexuality. Narrated by a character called Alisoun, "The Wife of Bath" reveals an insight to a woman’s point of view in medieval times. Alisoun begins her long prologue by declaring that she follows the rule of experience; announcing that she’s a self–proclaimed women. Throughout the her tale Alisoun questions and challenges the idea of power and authority in medieval society. Through Alisoun, Chaucer gives women a voice to express their call for equality and their need for power. By using description and characterization, Chaucer gives readers an insight to a society in which women are starting to express their desire to have power ultimately arguing that in order for men to be happy women need to have sovereignty in medieval times.

The Wife of Bath 's Prologue and Tale is about female empowerment it shows strong protagonists. I believe Geoffrey Chaucer used The Wife of Bath’s Tale to advocate for feminism. Chaucer used a strong female character to expose female stereotypes. It was an oppressive time for women in male-dominated society. During the Middle Ages, Chaucer wrote from a woman’s point of view something that was not normal at that time. He set his feminist ideals through the characters of the Wife of Bath and the old woman. He used subtle methods like humor to show his ideals. During Chaucer’s time nobody was used to the idea of women being equal to men, this idea did not exist. Chaucer expressed his ideas in the Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale by being one of the first to understand and acknowledge a women’s struggle in society, through this tale he shows the difference between men and women and their positions of power. In the Wife of Bath’s Tale, feminism is showed by the knight recognizing and listening to his wife. Chaucer is a feminist for his time because he used humor to mask his unpopular ideas he used these characters to voice his opinions.

Patricia Era Bath, one of the most amazing inventors, doctors, and educators of our time, was born on November 4, 1972 in Harlem, New York. Gladys Bath, her mother, worked as a housewife and a domestic worker, saving her salary for her children’s education. Her father, Rupert Bather set the family tone for firsts. He was the first black motorman for the subway system in New York City. Patricia was encouraged to pursue academic interests and exposed to the value of exploring different cultures. Her interest in science and medicine was first sparked when her mother bought her first chemistry set.

Throughout the span of recorded history, there are innumerable accounts of humans committing acts of violence and hate upon their own race, a lot of times for self gain and interest. Countess Elizabeth Bathory is known for accomplishing a mortifying feat of her own, kidnapping, torturing, and killing well over six hundred fifty young women and girls within the twenty five years of her killing spree. In order to gather the blood she needed for her practice, she needed to take advantage of the lower class, tricking families to send in their daughters for work, good pay, and lessons. She did this all in her own greed and thirst for blood, having no empathy for those affected. Elizabeth Bathory is seen as a villain through history’s eyes as a result

. . [and] in both cases the character's lives are at stake because of something they have done” (website 3). However, the Wife of Bath’s tale deviates from its source material in that the knight from the Wife of Bath’s tale “gets into his predicament by raping a young maiden. In "Dame Ragnell," King Arthur is accused of giving Sir Gawain land that belongs to someone else, Gromer Somer Joure” (website 3). Chaucer chooses to change the crime that is described in the story because the crime of rape aligns more with the feminist theme of his tale than the confusion over property rights does because rape is a violation of a woman’s sovereignty over herself. The other reason that this section of the story supports the Wife of Bath’s feminist message is because of the nature of the task that Queen Guinevere gives the knight, which is actually derived from the legend of “The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle”. The Wife of Bath’s tale and the Arthurian legend from which the tale is derived have “crimes [that] are completely different, yet they still warrant similar

Erzsebet Bathory, also known as Elizabeth Bathory, was one of history’s most prolific female serial killer as she would torture and kill her victims, who were mainly young girls, merely to use their blood to take baths, believing that her skin would get as smooth as most of her victims. The Blood Countess was convicted and confined to a room of her castle that only had slits for air and food. She survived in there for three years, however, she then died at the age of 54 most likely due to negligence and malnutrition (Bathory’s Torturous Escapades).

In The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer creates a wonderfully complex character in the Wife of Bath. She exhibits many traits easily identifiable as virtuous--honesty, cheerfulness, and the desire to follow the teachings of the Bible. At other times she reveals traits easily perceived as negative--greed, cruelty, and promiscuity. By the end of her tale to the other pilgrims, more light is shed on her character when it becomes apparent that her tale parallels certain aspects of her own life. Understanding the Wife of Bath’s motivations for her actions through the tale provides an explanation, and, from a sympathetic point of view, an excuse for her negative behavior. Through the voice of the

Additionally, the Wife of Bath was not submissive. Even though her husbands were “the head(s) of the household,” Alison managed gain some control in their relationship. “A husband I will have, I will not desist, who shall be both my debtor and my slave. (Pg. 291)” Essentially, if the Wife of Bath wanted her husband to be productive or helpful, she would withhold sex. “Until he had paid his ransom to me; then I would allow him to do his foolishness. (Pg. 307)” When the lack of sex wasn’t enough, Alison would nag them into compliance. However, she didn’t use the same tactics with Jenkins, because they were actually in love—“Whom I took for love and not for money. (Pg. 315)”

In The Canterbury Tales, the Wife of Bath gives an in-depth look on her life and understanding on the world as she perceives it. During her Prologue, we learn that what she calls experience stems from her first three marriages, but during her last two there is a shift in power. The Wife of Bath demonstrates her understanding and power throughout her first three marriages both physically and emotionally and the contrast of her lack of control in her last two, thus revealing the true meaning behind what she believes is experience during these marriages. The Wife of Bath’s authority can be viewed as realist when paralleled to the chain of being because of the emotional control she has over her previous husbands and the simple fact that she

In The Canterbury tales, 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. For the representation of women Chaucer uses the Tales of “The Scholar”, “The Second Nun “The Reeve’s”, and “The Franklin” and many others in a very dry, pretentious manner to steer readers into the view of how a women of the Middle Ages should be as a so called “virtuous” wife or woman. The concept of marriage plays a major part in manifesting the idea of the issues of inferiority of women. The perception rendered as women having to be obedient and inferior figure to their husbands or male counter parts. Chaucer