Essay On The Wife Of Bath's Tale
What do women yearn for most? At times, most women cannot answer this ancient question. A substantial amount of women prefer money, never ending youth, to be wed, to be widowed, to be respected, or to be pampered; the list is infinite. In The Wife of Bath’s Tale, King Arthur’s knight rapes a young maiden; the punishment at this time was beheading. Yet, the King allowed the Queen to choose the consequences that the knight will suffer. The Queen instructs the knight to answer the question: “What is the thing that most of all women desire? (Martin, 2006)” or he will be beheaded. The knight agrees and is given one year and a day to embark on his quest for what women long for most.
During his quest, the knight meets a old woman who can give him the answer to the question that will save his life; on one condition, that the night take her hand in marriage. The old woman says to the knight “Women desire to have the sovereignty and sit in rule and government above their husbands, and to have their way in love”(Martin, 2006). Instead of leaving the answer at that, the old woman tricks the man into marrying her so that she can show him the true meaning. A man can know what women want, but not know how to
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Or will you have me rather young and fair and take your chances on who may repair either to your house on account of me or to some other place, it well may be. Now make your choice whichever you prefer” (Martin, 2006). Instead of being selfish and choosing the one the fit his needs the most, he gave the choice to the woman; by doing this he demonstrated that he truly understood what women truly desire. Therefore, the ugly old woman granted the knights wish and transformed herself into both a youthful and faithful
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