The Wife Of Bath In Geoffrey Chaucer's Tale

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In The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, the Wife of Bath shares a tale about a knight and a older women. The knight seeking out the answer to what is a woman’s greatest desire in order to avoid his beheading. The prologue to this tale, explains the previous five marriages of the Wife of Bath. Through the tale and the experiences that were shared, the Wife of Bath is a not feminist. The relationships that the Wife of Bath had with her husbands showcase her options on the way a marriage should work. In the prologue, she states that she has been married five times throughout her life. She does not believe that people who have had multiple marries will be condemned in God’s eyes. She also does not believe that virginity is an important …show more content…
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, feminism is defined as “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.” A feminist is one who supports that definition. The Wife of Bath does not support equality. She wants to have complete and utter control of each man in her life. She sees each of her husbands as a project. The first three husband were not as special to her because they were easy to gain control over. The fourth husband was a little more hesitant to fall under her spell and she does what it takes to get him to follow her rule. She does not care if she has to fabricate a false story to get the fourth husband’s attention. The fifth husband is her favorite because she sees him as her ultimate achievement. He is the hardest one to dominate. He does not value women and makes it known to her as he religiously reads from his book that expresses his misogyny. Though she does not like the comments his is making, she enjoys the challenge. Jankyn is her biggest accomplishment, therefore seen as a the biggest trophy in her collection. The other husbands were too easy for her to control. It is more fun for her to completely take over someone who is stubborn and the one who likes to be dominant in relationships. She is not a feminist because she does not what a marriage where the two spouses are equal. She does not want her husbands to feel as if they are on the same level as her. She makes them bow to her as a
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