Wife Of Bath In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

Words: 785
Pages: 4
Open Document
Wife of Bath English, compared to other languages, is very young, beginning its evolution only in the 12th century. The first impartial piece of English literature is Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, a collection of stories, which gives the modern reader a window into life during the Medieval Period. One of the characters that has generated great interest in the Wife of Bath, a beautiful woman who has been married five times “Not counting other youthful company” (Gen Pro). She is very showy and wears “stockings…of finest scarlet-red,” “fine kerchiefs of old-fashion air,” and “linen on her head” (Gen Pro). She also expresses opinions in the prologue to her tale about experience being more credible than scripture when it came to marriage and how having many partners is not a show of poor character. Her tale is of a knight who raped a woman and is then forced to go on a year-long journey to discover what women desire most. Her telling of such a tale is not surprising due to her appearance and expressed …show more content…
All rules of any government or ruling body were parallel to the Holy Bible. However, The Wife of Bath believed that scriptural authority was overruled by experience with a subject. For example, she begins explaining her tale by expressing that “Experience…confers on me/The right to speak of marriage, and unfold/Its woes” (Wife’s Pro). She is stating that her experience, not the Bible or any other authority, gives her the right to speak of marriage in her tale. Indeed, she does have great experience, for she has “[M]arried at a church door no less than five” (Wife’s Pro). This is extraordinary for the time period, however, is not extraordinary for her. The General Prologue shows that she is an individual and does not conform to societal norms. She’s “somewhat deaf” which symbolizes she doesn’t listen to outside influences, such as men or the Bible (Gen Pro). She instead listens to herself and her
Show More

Related Documents: Wife Of Bath In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

Comparing The Nun And Wife Of Bath In The Canterbury Tales

criticizes most of the characters in his story. In the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer shows this when he talks about his characters, the Nun and the Wife of Bath. Chaucer’s opinion of them is shown by the way he has written about their characteristics. The characters show their thoughts and feelings by how they act and look. So, the similarities and differences between the Nun and the Wife of Bath are viewed by Chaucer’s opinion of all women. In the Canterbury tales, Chaucer explains his characters so deeply that…

Words 357 - Pages 2

Comparing The Wife Of Bath's Prologue And Tale

The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale (DATE) tells the story of a lusty, boisterous, opinionated yet powerful woman who puts her marriages before anything else. Many of her views are presented to the modern day reader as a feminist statement of empowerment, contrasting heavily with the harsh anti-feminist views that were dominant at the time. Chaucer creates a character who uses these anti-feminist ideals to her advantage by succumbing to the views and using them to manipulate and control the men…

Words 1820 - Pages 8

Canterbury Tales And The Wife Of Bath

Good Wif Chaucer makes many political and social observations in The Canterbury Tales and the Wife of Bath is no exception. Chaucer writes her character as a suitable vessel which embodies true statements against the misogynistic and socially backwards ideas of her time. He accomplishes this by subtly planting radical ideas about society’s view of sexuality within the entertaining caricature of a “town slut.” The Wife of Bath is described as having “headkerchiefs…of the finest weave” (Chaucer, 14)…

Words 834 - Pages 4

How Does Chaucer Present The Corruption In The Summoner's Tale

Canterbury Tales Essay: Chaucer While writing Canterbury Tales, was Chaucer aiming to reveal an alter ego of himself or a glimpse of society through his tales? Although this topic is widely debated, a universally accepted answer is that Chaucer was aiming at producing a work that accurately depicted a snapshot of what life was like during the late 14th century. For example, the Summoner’s Tale focuses on the unethical nature of seemingly good friars, and the Wife of Bath’s Tale reveals that common…

Words 1364 - Pages 6

Compare And Contrast The Wife Of Bath's Tale And The Pardoners Tale

“The Pardoner’s Tale” and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” are just two of 21 tales from Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales Not unlike the remaining 19 tales, “The Pardoner’s Tale” and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” offer stories that serve both entertainment purposes and wise warnings against poor morale. The Pardoner offers warnings against one’s greed’s corruptive ways, while the Wife of Bath features a worthy lesson against the “correlation” of social standing and quality of a person’s character.…

Words 116 - Pages 1

Sexism In The Canterbury Tales Essay

representation of their experiences. Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales features a mix of male and female characters that allows for stories from the contrasting experiences of the sexes. The various points of view provide commentary on the treatment of women by others and women’s own views on gender standards, while still revealing Chaucer’s personal opinions towards issues facing women at the time. The introductions of the contrasting characters of Chaucer’s tales divulge the drastically different treatment…

Words 1003 - Pages 5

The Wife of Bath Essay

The Wife of Bath There are several stories within the Canterbury Tales. One of Chaucer’s more contemporary and popular stories is The Wife of Bath. The tale takes place during the days of King Arthur and is about an ugly woman who learns by accident that true beauty lies within. How might The Wife of Bath fit in today’s society? Would her standing be that of what we consider celebrity or royal status, or would she be looked down on due to her numerous marriages? This tale gives a look into the…

Words 342 - Pages 2

The Knight, The Wife Of Bath And The Friar

The Canterbury Tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer is seen as one of the most important pieces of English literature of all time. In his work, Chaucer deals with many issues that were at the front of Medieval Society. One part of life in the 14th century that the Canterbury Tales deals with is the many aspects of love. Love has always been a favourite topic of Poets since the dawn of writing and Chaucer satires this in a way never really seen before. In the General Prologue of The Canterbury Tales we…

Words 1971 - Pages 8

Morality In Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales, pilgrims of different social classes tell tales while embarking on a pilgrimage. The Wife of Bath and the Pardoner tell tales which gives the readers an insight into their inner morality. The Wife of Bath’s ugly, poor and socially unfit exterior appearance, and the Pardoner’s pretty, rich, and socially acceptable exterior appearance, fails to reflect their internal morality. Both the Wife of Bath and the Pardoner use language to reveal their inner morality. In the Wife of Bath’s…

Words 792 - Pages 4

The Pilgrimage In Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is the story of 29 pilgrims and their own pilgrimage. Whether it's religious or for personal gain each pilgrim take a grueling pilgrimage. A religious pilgrimage is a journey of spiritual significance and is usually taken to a shrine or a location of importance to one’s belief. In The Canterbury Tales several characters are introduced such as the Pardoner,Wife of Bath and the Friar. Chaucer creates the characters to be hypocritical as their actions aren’t that…

Words 1220 - Pages 5