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Examples Of Sexism In The Wife Of Bath's Tale

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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. The tale portrays women as tricksters and seducers. The answer to what women desire most in the tale is “A women want the self same sovereignty over her husband as over her lover” (143). Once a women married a man has no fear of losing her, she can no longer use her charms against him. A women does not want to be equal to her husband in a relationship, but rather have power over him. The old women in the tale tricks the knight into marrying her and when the knight begs “leave my body free” (143) the old women is put on a level similar to the knight who raped the girl even though she begged him to stop. Women are only able to do as they please through the means of tricks and seduction. …show more content…

Characterized as being attention seeking and sexually promiscuous her story is very much based off her own beliefs. One women in the story answered the women upmost desire is “to be oft widowed and remarried”(140) while another said “Gorgeous clothes”(140), both of which the Wife of Bath often indulged in. At the end of the story when everyone lives happily ever after the Wife of Bath goes on to say, “ May Jesus send us husbands meek and young and fresh in bed and grace to overbid them when we wed, and Jesu hear my prayer!-cut short the lives of those who won’t be governed by their wives”(147). Women want meek husbands who will do as they please and any man who would not follow the will of their wife should

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