Character Analysis Of The Wife Of Bath

Geoffrey Chaucer, an English poet during the middle ages, wrote The Canterbury Tale’s Wife of Bath; he was born from a humble middle-class family and climbed his way up through the aristocracy. The Wife of Bath main protagonist is molded by a sexist culture of her times. My goal with this paper is to shed light on The Wife of Bath’s main character. A story of a smart, strong-willed woman who manipulates her way to financial and personal independence, is she a feminist or a smart and scheming woman?

The Wife of Bath believed that women should take mastery over their men (Pg. 914). She had five husbands and thought she knew how to control men.

In “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” the knight’s punishment for raping a girl is to set out on a year long journey to find out what women desire most. This story is sexist portraying women in a negative light.

2.) In this section, the Wife of Bath comments on the different answers given to the Knight, and her comments give insight to her opinions and views of women. For example, the text states, “Others assert we women find it sweet when we are thought dependable, discreet and secret, firm of purpose and controlled, never betraying things that we are told. But that’s not worth the handle of a rake; women conceal a thing? For Heaven’s sake!” This quote suggests that the Wife of Bath believes all women are incapable of keeping a secret, which is an untrue and harmful stereotype. Her main opinion on women seems to be that while they wish to appear wise, pure, and good on the outside, it does not mean they are perfect internally and many

Medieval society portrayed what love and generosity should be. Older men married young women. Of course women had no choice in who hey married. The dowry benefits family member, not the women. Older men marrying young women had a suffrage of inequality in the relationship. In courts, where dances occur, married women would have affairs with men that are their age.. The conflict begins with a woman’s ability to choose a man she desires, yet she marries an older man with no love. Men accused married woman for being sexual since, supposedly, they are culpable of the marriage. Medieval society portrayed married women as disloyal wives who were unable to their control their sexual desires toward young men.

The wife of Bath beliefs that women need to be in control which make men think why because men were to be in control. Men were to take care of women, they were looked at as delicate things that had to be watched over. The wife of Bath beliefs that men should find thing the secret to make women happy, money would be for her. Like in the story it 's the queen and women of the court who determines the punishment for King Arthur the Knight for him raping a women.

There are a couple of inferences that I could make about The Wife of Bath in “The Tale of the Wife of Bath.” The one big thing that I can inference is that the knight will take the wife of bath for his own wife. In the story it says,”

There are many inferences about the Wife of Bath throughout this story. With inferences such as the wife doesn't find women trustworthy can be showed with examples from the text. "yet out it must, no secret can we hide" (l.124). In this quote she is

The mind of a woman is one engulfed in a variety of beliefs and conceptions that internally distinguishes one from another. To demonstrate, some women most desire a multitude of different traits from their husband based off the situation in their relationship. One type of woman who feels beneath her husband may desire equality in the relationship. Another type of woman who is facing possible danger may want a fearless husband who can protect them from harm. One final type of woman who has a history of being with people they find physically unattractive, and simply wants a handsome .

Views on the presence of feminism in “The Wife of Bath,” range from those who believe that Alisoun, The Wife, surpasses patriarchy and those who believe that Alisoun falls short. This story, “The Wife of Bath,” is a subsection of a larger story entitled The Canterbury Tales, in which the Wife of Bath tells her own history as well as a tale that she has created. The Wife of Bath is one of the twenty pilgrims who travel on a spiritual journey. Each pilgrim tells a tale and the pilgrims form a competition to see who has the best tale. She begins prior to her tale with a full introduction of herself, including the number of husbands that she has had. Her introduction goes on with telling

The Wife of Bath and her tale are the most similar out of all the tales because they both share a domineering outlook over others. In the general prologue she is told to have had five husbands and is described as a looker, “Her face was bold and handsome and ruddy,” (Chaucer 39). In her prologue she goes more in depth of her time spent with her five husbands. Wife of Bath talks most about how she gains control over her husbands. For instance, her fifth husband was the controlling force in their marriage until he made the mistake of hitting her and telling her he would do anything to keep her with him and said, “My own true wife, do as you wish for the rest of your life…” (335). Next, her tale. Her tale starts with a man deflowering a woman

The wife of bath is an admirable woman. She thinks about herself and the love she deserves. The wife of bath encourages women of today to not let men control us a property and to be treated equal. The wife of bath doesn’t understand why

Gender role refers to those behaviors and attitudes that are considered to belong to one sex. Gender role is based on femininity and masculinity that differentiate women and men by giving men some roles and women which results to gender inequality. There some work in society that is regarded to belong to women such as cooking, taking care of children and other less important roles while men are given roles that makes them superior than women. Most of the gender roles associated with women makes them inferior and creates a room to be oppressed. Gender roles are constructed by society and attributed to women or men. In the book of vindication of the right of a woman, Wollstonecraft brings out clearly the roles of a woman in her society and how it has led to oppression of women (Wollstonecraft 22). Wollstonecraft believes that men and women are equal given the same environment and empowerment, women can do anything a man can do. In her society, education for women is only aimed at making her look pleasing to men. Women are treated as inferior being and used by men as sex objects. Wollstonecraft believed that the quality of mind of women is the same with that of men, and therefore women should not be denied a chance for formal education that will empower them to be equal with men.

In the fourteen century, men were always the superior, head of the household, the breadwinner, but women were always inferior, they would stay at home, do the house work, cook, and never would have a job. Well, times have changed. Women are reaching an equal status to men in political, social and economic matters It’s part of the idea called Feminism. In many ways the Wife of Bath displays many characteristic of women in the 21st century. Instead of being directed by men, she views herself as an independent person. Throughout her introduction of the tale, and the story itself, we see the Wife of Bath as an experienced, intellectual woman, who despite living in a world of patriarchal power, provides for herself financially, emotionally, and physically. As a feminist icon, she confronts serious social issues that illustrate the subjugation women faced.

A story that reflects a timeless issue of equality, morals, and lesson on what women really desire. The Wife of Bath by Geoffrey Chaucer is a story in The Canterbury Tales that expresses multiple moral lessons and an exciting dialogue that provides an entertaining story. The two stories that will be examined today are the “Pardoners Tale” and “The Wife of Bath”, after much evaluation I believe that “The Wife of Bath” is the better story. This is the better story because it’s more entertaining and also has more morals with better quality.