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Wife of bath

            Often literature can be used as a historical reference, illustrating the ways of life in a culture though stories set in a particular time period. Although the stories in the Canterbury tales are fictional, they represent many social issues and provide an intimate view of life in Medieval Europe. All the pilgrims as individuals represent a wide range of people of the 14th century English life focusing on medieval attitudes and customs in areas such as love, marriage, class and status of women.
             Throughout the Wife of Bath's Tale and Prologue we as readers acknowledge the fact that this character Chaucer has created is not like the average woman of her time. She is portrayed as the opposite of the stereotypical medieval woman. The Wife of Bath holds a high intelligence and an overwhelming ability to manipulate and control the opposite sex. She emphasizes the importance of women controlling their men in the line "How pitously a-nyght I made hem swynke!" This only announces her total control over her husbands. She is perfectly capable of attaining power over her husbands when she states "They were ful glad whan I spak to hem faire, For God it woot, I chide hem spitously." She is fully aware of the fact that she treats her husbands cruelly when she says "What sholde I taken keep hem for to plese" meaning that she is not responsible for her husbands pleasure. Despite this knowledge of inequality in the marriage this does not affect her attitude because she enjoys having the upper hand in her relationships. This further highlights the struggle of power within a marriage. In the middle ages, women had a raw deal in marriage. For almost all of history they were considered secondary to men in marriage and often regarded as merely possessions, therefore The Wife of Bath is clearly an outcast of her time. Her independent behaviour and individual beliefs undoubtedly make her stand out from the rest.


Essays Related to Wife of bath

1. Canterbury Tales - The Wife of Bath

In this tale, the Wife of Bath and several others journey toward Canterbury, telling stories to one another to pass the time along the way. ... The Wife of Bath is a confident, honest, strong willed woman-very distinctive, somewhat aggressive in speaking her mind and showcasing her worldly savvy. ... One could make parallels to the Wife of Bath herself, or to the more seemingly manipulative old hag of the story, who seems to believe in teaching lessons the hard way. ... Regardless, the mindset existed, whether it was Chaucer's own or not, and is herein depicted in the Wife of Bath's ...

  • Word Count: 1042
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography

2. Wife of Bath

"She- is the Wife of Bath. ... Even the Wife of Bath's tale gives the reader a sense of her feminism. ... The Wife of Bath would "Of wenches wolde I beren hem on honde- (The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale, 399). Jenkins, the Wife of Bath's Fifth husband, would be more of a challenge for the Wife of Bath, but at the end would be able to be given the mastery of the marriage. ... -(The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale, 1-3). ...

  • Word Count: 925
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

3. The Wife of Bath

The Wife of Bath is a woman of experience. ... The Wife of Bath acts more like a black widow, than a loving wife. ... The Wife of Bath uses her hatred of this book to gain control over her 5th husband. ... The tale of the knight told by the Wife of Bath is about what women really want. ... The idea of this story corresponds with what The Wife of Bath thinks. ...

  • Word Count: 530
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Wife of Bath

The Wife of Bath uses her story to indirectly dispel the cast system and religious stereotypes. ... The transformation of the hag into a beautiful and faithful wife represents the Wife of Bath's inner beauty and true soul. ... In the Wife of Bath's tale the knight represents organized religion and public perception. ... The Wife of Bath is telling us that, we who condemn her for being married five times, should turn the table on ourselves. ... The Wife of Bath is a character of much complexity whose surface can barely be scratched in the brevity I have discussed. ...

  • Word Count: 532
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Wife Of Bath

Chaucer appears to support women and specifically these feminists by creating two very strong-willed and successful women in the Wife of Bath and the old hag in the Wife's tale. ... The Wife of Bath is a woman who freely admits to all the lust, the conniving and the deceit that defines her. ... Following her fourth husband's death, the Wife of Bath married a man half her age within a month. ... This shows how badly the Wife of Bath needs to have a man and feels incomplete without one. ... As evident with the hypocrisy showed by the Wife of Bath. ...

  • Word Count: 1579
  • Approx Pages: 6

6. The Wife of Bath - Literary Essay

Through the Wife of Bath, in both her prologue & her tale, Chaucer introduces the modern-day notion that women are entitled to remarry & fulfill their intimate desires & to demand that their wants & unique wisdom be respected by men. ... The Wife claims that God endorses her sexual appetite. ... The Wife claims that women should have multiple alternatives. ... The Wife of Bath loves men but also hates them. ... The Wife of Bath's prologue & tale argues that women must control everything to have a blissful relationship but her stories tell her otherwise....

  • Word Count: 797
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Wife of bath

Canterbury Tales: The Wife of Bath's Prologue The Wife of Bath's Prologue can be read in two ways. ... The wife of Bath escapes the typical thinking of woman in Chaucer's day. ... The Wife of Bath clearly disagrees with this ideology. ... It was not Chaucer's intent to display the Wife of Bath in this way. ... The Wife of Bath has admirable qualities as well. ...

  • Word Count: 767
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Wife of Bath

The Wife of Bath's Tale and Prologue both present some very interesting views on women and their role in marriage. ... Essentially, through her experiences, Alison (the wife of bath) is showing us how the roles of men and women in marriage can be completely reversed. From early in the Prologue we clearly see that The Wife of Bath is not afraid to use her wit and sexual prowess to get men and in turn make them follow her every wish. ... The Wife of Bath's Tale presents the sovereignty differently, but very clearly. ... The outcome of both stories clearly define Alison's (Th...

  • Word Count: 392
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

9. The Wife of Bath

The Wife of Bath's Tale The Wife of Bath is one of Geoffrey Chaucer's more vibrant characters. ... The Wife of Bath is witty, intelligent, opinionated, and sensual. Geoffrey Chaucer also gives a somewhat detailed description of the Wife of Bath. ... The Wife of Bath tells a tale of a young knight in King Arthur's day who was a lusty liver. ... The Wife of Bath's Tale is about the relationships between husbands and wives. ...

  • Word Count: 736
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

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