Analysis Of The Wife Of Bath - 1660 Words

The Canterbury Fails: An Analysis of Misogyny in the Wife of Bath’s Tale At first glance, you wouldn’t think that the Wife of Bath’s tale is anything other than feminist. She is, undeniably, the only non-religious female character in The Canterbury Tales and therefore is the only character who is approached from a point of view that was generally uncommon. We don’t have many— or even any, as far as I’m aware— pieces of medieval literature written by or for women or with a main female protagonist. If there is a female character present in a male dominated story, they are usually there to be someone’s wife, treated like property or a whore and in some instances, all three. So, as a way to be original, Chaucer took this opportunity to use a female character that is unlike any other in his time. Except that her tale does exactly what it sets up not to: it rewards a man for being a brute. The Wife of Bath is supposedly a â€Å"strong female character,† but Chaucer fails to show how her character has value s that defy those of the average medieval person. The only obvious differences between the Wife of Bath’s tale versus her male counterparts is her perspective as a woman. The Wife of Bath offers a lengthy and detailed sexual and marital history for herself which preludes a short story detailing a knight’s supposed conversion. These two tales are directly related— the Wife of Bath’s favorite husband is the one who abused her and the knight in her tale is a repented rapist. It would beShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Poem The Wife Of Bath Essay873 Words   |  4 PagesAnalytical Essay on the â€Å"Wife of Bath.† Question One Description of the Wife of Bath in terms of her progressive feminism, rhetoric style, and her prolog tale. Comparison of her as a women attitude towards general medieval attitude towards women. â€Å"Wife of Bath† Tale provides insight and understanding of the women change and their view mainly in matters of family, marriage, authority and marital affairs. The Prolog is double the size of her Tale, a lot of information about marriage group is givenRead MoreFeminist Analysis Of The Wife Of Bath 1419 Words   |  6 PagesFeminism in the Wife of Bath The story of the Wife of Bath provides an insight to the role women were expected to play during the late middle ages. In the Prologue, Alice narrates her story guided by her life experience and religious beliefs. Alice is a reformed woman who goes against the patriarchal community’s expectation of women being suppressed by their men (Carter, 309). According to Kittredge (440), the wife of bath contradicts the church’s expectation that the wife should be loyal and holyRead MoreWife Of Bath Chaucer Analysis702 Words   |  3 Pagescontroversial characters, the Wife of Bath. Dame Alison, the Wife of Bath, gained her notoriety by deviating from the normal ideals of women in this time period. While most women in this time period were expected to be obedient to their husbands, Alison demands the submission of men her relationships. Like all of Chaucer’s characters, Dame follows her prologue by telling her own story, which directly parallels her own morals and belie fs. As seen in her prologue, the Wife of Bath was first married off whenRead MoreCharacter Analysis of the Wife of Bath1755 Words   |  8 Pagesextensive stories comes from the character, The Wife of Bath. Initially, she is described in short as a well-dressed woman who knew much about love and life. â€Å"Of remedies of love she knew per chaunce,/ For she koude of that art the olde daunce† (Chaucer, GP, 475-476). Upon further examination of her prologue and tale, one comes to find that she may be one the most intriguing characters represented in the Canterbury Tales. Everything about the Wife of Bath is bold and pronounced, from what she wearsRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem The Wife Of Bath 1754 Words   |  8 PagesBecca Edmondson AP English 12 Mrs. Price Research Paper The Wife of Bath The Wife of Bath is unlike the other women of her time to some extent, yet simultaneously is a member of a certain group of individuals. Although this is taking place in the fourteenth century, surprising as it is, the Wife of Bath fits into the society through her uniqueness. In Chaucer’s tales the women of this time were not portrayed as one might imagine. Many believe the women of the fourteenth century were housewives whoRead MoreCritical Analysis Of The Wife Of Bath1521 Words   |  7 Pagesauthority regarding their morality, spirituality, and economic and social positioning. Biblical symbols caused a misrepresentation of women and were highly regarded in the suppressing of the female voice and their value outside of being a wife and mother. â€Å"The Wife of Bath’s Tale† provides one of the most intriguing medieval cultural insights to gender studies. The reader joins a pilgrimage with the Canterbury Tale’s most audacious and sexually unrestricted f emale narrators who also gives a personalRead MoreWife of bath character analysis1148 Words   |  5 Pagestime, even in the past abuse like this existed, but there wasn’t a term for it, especially if it was your wife. Likely you would be told that she’s a little rambunctious or noisy and she will calm down, but that may not be the problem. The Wife of Bath in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales can be classified as an abuser by the methods she uses to control her husbands. Emotional abuse is the Wife of Bath’s greatest tool against her first husbands. In the Wife’s Prologue, she tells of the accusationsRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem The Wife Of Bath Essay1247 Words   |  5 PagesAnalytical Essay on the â€Å"Wife of Bath.† By Chaucer’s time, the antifeminism tradition was very strong and had grown up. Her faith on marriage is surprising to men, especially during that period of time. She is a skilled woman, and knows how to defend her views on marriage and sex, in which she blows the idealistic of antifeminism by interpreting the bible to her benefit. And, when someone in authority disagrees with her, she relies on her experience. â€Å"Wife of Bath† Tale provides insight and understandingRead MoreWife Of Bath Prologue Analysis1130 Words   |  5 PagesThe Wife of Bath’s Prologue The Wife of Baths Prologue On my paper, I decided to do the wife of Baths Prologue to the song lyrics I Do by Colbie Caillat. The first stanza says: Its always been about me, myself, and I I thought relationships were nothing but a waste of time I never wanted to be anybodys other half I was happy saying I had a love that wouldnt last That was the only way I knew til I met you In the Wife of Bath, Chaucer has rolled the ultimate outrageous medieval stereotypeRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem The Wife Of Bath Essay2305 Words   |  10 PagesThe theme of matrimony in the Wife of Bath’s Prologue as well as in the Miller’s Tale does not fit in with traditional fourteenth-century culture. The characters in these two texts turn what is suppose to be a sacred unity into a promiscuous and taboo fantasy for pilgrims. The characters narrating these two tales promote the idea of what fourteenth-century canon law would define as adultery—to have had a third lover while married is the new societal trend for the characters in these tales. And so