Women In The Wife Of Bath's Tale

Words: 820
Pages: 4
Open Document
Canterbury Tales
In the Wife of Bath’s Tale, Alison presents a message of equal personal and social rights for women, which goes against the patriarchal culture of medieval society. While introducing her tale, her message is confused by some as supporting the objectification of women, but, in fact, supports the right of women to use their body as they see fit. Her words, “Take wise King Solomon of long ago; / We hear he had a thousand wives or so. / And would be to God it were allowed to me / To be refreshed, aye, half so much as he” (259), show that she wants to have the freedom to associate herself with men as she sees fit. This goes against the status quo of the time, presented by the clergy members, who look upon her statements with disdain. Later in her …show more content…
When she asks, “...Why do you hide the keys of coffer doors? / It’s just as much my property as yours. / Do you want to make an idiot of your wife? / Now, by the Lord that gave me soul and life, / You shan’t have both, you can’t be such a noddy / As think to keep my goods and have my body!” (266-267), she stands up and demands more of a voice in the relationship. In addition to arguing for more freedom for herself, she also argues against the abuse of authority by men, which is common in the patriarchal relationships of the time, stating that “But in the end we made it up together. / He gave the bridle over to my hand, / Gave me the government of house and land, / Of tongue and fist, indeed of all he’d got” (280), after her fifth husband strikes her. By arguing against the abuse of authority by men in a relationship, she stands up for her own right to self-determination in a relationship. At the end of her tale, she finally argues against the objectification of women by men and believes that men should appreciate women for their character, rather than their appearance. “No quarrels!” (291), she declares, “On my oath / And word of honor, you shall find me both, / That is, both fair and faithful
Show More

Related Documents: Women In The Wife Of Bath's Tale

Women In The Wife Of Bath's Tale

Women desire to have some control in a relationship, whereas almost none if any, receive it. In “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” she tells us a story revolving around a man having no choice but to give full control to the women he is wed to. It shows us that men don’t know women as well as they thought. In the tale, a lonesome knight goes through a mental battle, willing to do anything to save his life. The Old English helps to add character and meaning to what is exactly going on as well as gives us insight…

Words 667 - Pages 3

Wife Of Bath's Tale Women Essay

In Geoffrey Chaucer's Wife of Bath's Tale, the main woman role completely modernized how women are portrayed, and I personally believe, women roles in society in general. The emergence of such a rebellious, free spirit shocked the general public. No one had ever heard of a woman put on that honest of a pedestal; presented as a powerful, decrepit, and wise lady of the evening. I believe that it formed a completely new social type of women in newer literary works, and even in our society in general…

Words 986 - Pages 4

Canterbury Tales Essay

Ryan Sebastian Mr. Laverty British Literature March 23, 2012 A Tale with Meaning Throughout history, books have always been a popular form of entertainment. Ever since the days of the first writing systems in ancient Mesopotamia, writing has always entertained us with stories and indulged our minds by taking us on adventures—some of which we would never be able to go on in our earthly bodies (as well as being used to relay valuable information). Writing has always told the story of a people and…

Words 1431 - Pages 6

Comparing Knight's Code And The Un-Courtly Love

The Un-Courtly Love The three Canterbury Tales have different ways of showing chivalry, courtly love, and the portrayal of women in the stories, mostly in a negative way. Chaucer shows in The Wife of Bath’s and the Miller’s tale that men don’t follow the Knight’s Code and the men and women don’t follow Courtly Love. He’s breaking those stereotypes of the knights and how they act and how women and others break the rules of Courtly Love. The Knight's Tale on the other hand, has more positives than…

Words 1449 - Pages 6

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

Sexism In The Canterbury Tales Essay

Women in the Middle Ages dealt with sexism in all areas of their lives, with not much 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…

Words 1003 - Pages 5

The Wife Of Bath's Tale

The Wife of Bath’s tale to her majority religious, male audience is quite radical, especially for its time, in the way that it proposes that women should have the right to be the dominant marital partner, almost a heretical notion. This is founded in the wife’s own life experience, mostly in the context of her fifth marriage, in which she and her husband shared admiration for one another. Her thesis is based on the democratic idea that mutual respect in marriage, a rarity in the time of Chaucer,…

Words 205 - Pages 1

Comparing Gorlagon And The Wife Of Bath's

texts, Arthur and Gorlagon and The Wife of Bath's Tale, there are similar "quests", similar negative portrayals of women and similar narrative structures, yet different resolutions. Arthur wants to know the "ways of women", while the knight wants to know what "women most desire." In the story that Gorlagon tells Arthur, women are portrayed as a devious traitor since the Queen chose to disobey Gorlagon and turn him into a wolf. Gorlagon tells Arthur that the women sitting across from him has no punishment…

Words 348 - Pages 2

Canterbury Tales Satire Analysis

Exaggerate Much? (Chaucer’s Use of Satire) Anybody who has ever read any of Chaucer’s work, would all agree on the fact that he writes about some things in very ironic ways. In the Canterbury Tales, you could call his approach satiric; he used satire to reach his intended audience. Satire is the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity on views. There are two different types of satire. The first type of satire is called horatian; this is basically…

Words 830 - 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