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Summary and analysis of the wife of bath tale
Wife of bath tale summary simple
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Rape and Power in The Wife of Bath
Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London in 1340 (Fuller 12). Geoffrey Chaucer's fortunes were closely bound with these of John Of Gaunt, the son-in-law to the Earl of Derby (Fuller 12). Around the year 1380, Geoffrey Chaucer was charged with rape by a woman named Cecily Chaumpaigne (Williams 28). It is most likely that a distinguishable character, such as Chaucer would not have been guilty of this charge. However, the word "rape" probably referred to abducting rather than assaulting a woman as it means today (Halliday 68). Cecily Chaumpaigne in 1380 released Chaucer of all charges of "raptu meo," a phrase that could be interpreted as "seizing me" (Williams 28). It is possible that this allegation of rape brought on to Chaucer by Cecily Chaumpaigne, is the very reason behind the Tale of the Wife of Bath.
The Wife of Bath was a plump, florid, jolly, bold, lusty, and voluptuous woman. She was the most valuable of women. The wife of bath cannot resist telling her companions about all of her sexual experiences. She has had five husbands. Her husbands fell into two categories. The first category of husbands was: rich, but also old and unable to fulfill her demands, sexually that is. The other husbands were sexually vigorous, but harder to control. The first three were rich, old, and jealous. She tamed them by accusing them of promiscuous behavior, that she herself practiced. Her fourth husband had a mistress, so she "gave him a real cause for jealousy" (Halliday 119). At the funeral of her first husband she fell in love with the legs of an Oxford clerk. Although he was half her age, he became her fifth husband. This marriage was unhappy because he beat her. To anger her fifth husband, the wife of Bath tore three pages from his book. After this he beat her again. She pretended to be dead and he felt so guilty that he threw his whole book in the fire. This gave her the upper hand for the rest of his life. She presently is looking for a sixth husband when her character is introduced (Halliday 119).
The tale The Wife of Bath tells us all is about a Knight who ultimately rapes a maiden and is sent by the queen on a quest to seek out what it is that women want most.