The Wife of Bath Essay

Chaucer has written and finished a total of 24 tales, sadly he did not finish the remaining 96 tales. Although, "The Wife of Bath's Tale" including the prologue of this tale written by Geoffry Chaucer in 1400 is included in the 24 finished tales. "The Wife of Bath's Tale Prologue" and "The Wife of Bath's Tale" by Geoffry Chaucer clearly shows his mix of Mythology and Christianity, his dislike of the church, and how there are only two types of women unless a man fully submitted to his wife, that then his wife becomes the best of both types, this is shown in "The Wife of Bath's Tale Prologue" And "The Wife of Bath's Tale" this is show by references to the Christian God, supernatural creatures, his distaste of churchmen, and his leeriness of women.

The Wife of Bath is the tale of an independent and headstrong woman. She strongly believes in the worth of every woman and that women should be dominant in their marriages. The Wife of Bath also directly speaks against strict religious claims for chastity and monogamy, using Biblical examples. These examples include Solomon to show that the Bible does not openly condemn all expressions of sexuality, even outside of marriage.

The Canterbury Tales depict many characters that, although fictionally created by Geoffrey Chaucer, may give the reader the opportunity to analyze and interpret their tales as a way of determining their personalities. The Wife of Bath and her prologue accurately supports this statement, as her intentions become expounded due to her questionable actions. The Wife of Bath exhibits in her prologue that she lacks respect and gratitude towards the men she beguiles into marriage and does so by falsely claiming direction from God. She shows not only deceit towards her many husbands, but also does not possess the ability to care about others before herself.

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.

Often, the most memorable female characters are those who break out of the stereotypical “good wife” mold. When an author uses this technique effectively, the woman often carries the story. In Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, he portrays the Wife of Bath, Alison, as a woman who bucks the tradition of her times with her brashness and desire for control. Chaucer effectively presents a woman's point of view and evokes some sympathy for her.

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.

Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is considered a work of satire towards medieval society by many literary critics. Chaucer uses the Wife of Bath as a prime way to quip a key fourteenth century practice wherein medieval society is patriarchal from noblemen to peasants. Women are one of the most restrained groups. The Wife of Bath narrates a story mocking male superiority and spouts a pro-women narrative. In this tale, the Wife of Bath shows women not submitting to a man’s world. For this period in time, she is a progressive who implies men are not in control of society which does not fit the mold of women at the time. She infers women are running everything from behind the curtain with men merely being used as puppets.

Throughout historical times, Women have been discriminated against as well as, oppressed simply because of their sex. The wife of Bath and The Faerie Queene, are two pieces of literature that steered away from the common stereotype set in their time periods. Ultimately, these two stories were told with cleverness and sophistication, without fear of consequences for going against what was expected in literature. That is what made these two texts my favorite to read in class, while there are many similarities between the two women, there are just as many differences. These two women are not only cunning in their relationships but they are also women with power who are not afraid to use it.

Before beginning any discussion on Chaucer’s Wife of Bath, one must first recognize that, as critic Elaine Treharne writes, “Critical response to the Wife of Bath has been as diverse as it has been emotive” (2). Some critics love the Wife of Bath and her controversial prologue, proclaiming that she is a woman of strength and powerful words; others hate her and cover the eyes of younger girls, determined that Wife of Bath is instead a role model of what women should not be; and the rest remain a bit confused, simply excusing themselves and the Wife herself. The question of whether or not the Wife of Bath ought to be admired or scorned continues to provoke a number of hands to raise in the air, ready to present

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

The Hyper-Sexual Depiction of The Wife of Bath In Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales The Wife of Bath, is arguably the most entertaining character within Geoffrey Chaucer’s literary masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales. Her refusal to conform to the standard expectations of women during the fourteenth century, has earned The Canterbury Tales a place amongst the earliest examples of feminist English literature. The Wife of Bath is depicted as someone concerned entirely with wealth and reputation, and intriguingly, this is a fact she herself does not negate nor hide.

Chaucer paints a pretty good picture of who the Wife of Bath is in the delivery of her lines. The narration given by the wife also helps the reader understand what Chaucer both as the poet, and as the pilgrim think of her. Although Chaucer presents the Wife as a strong and bold woman, we can interpret her to not be well respected and that Chaucer is a misogynist.

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

Geoffrey Chaucer "The Father of English," is best known for his literary work "The Canterbury Tales." In which his most realistically developed character is The Wife of Bath. In "The Canterbury Tales," the Wife of Bath's Tale has been seen as controversial because in the middle ages woman had no say in anything including marriage. She considered herself "an expert as a wife," (Chaucer, l. 12) and on marriage because of her past experiences in five marriages. She believed that a marriage controlled by the woman is a happy marriage, and her beliefs on marriage are directly connected to the tale she tells.

The Wife of Bath, a modern liberated woman, is one of the more refreshing characters among some of the pilgrims. Her doctrine on marriage and a woman’s place invokes contempt from some of the devout followers of the Church, namely, the Parson and Clerk; she’s bold and confident, especially for a woman in medieval times. However, while the Wife of Bath is a confident and intelligent woman, she is power hungry and will use whatever means necessary to obtain control; her doctrine on marriage is reflected in the marriage of the knight and the transformed old woman in the tale.