Gender Norms In The Wife Of Bath's Tale

What do women desire the most? The knight in “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” was faced with this very question and settled on the idea that women desire sovereignty over their lives. In the Middle Ages, for the most part all women had similar roles to each other and were viewed as second-class citizens. The man held the upper hand and was free to do whatever he desired. Women’s sole responsibility was procreation and attending to the household duties. They had very limited choices. They could choose to marry, become a childbearing wife or go into a religious order. Women during this time period were seen as nothing more than property to men. Their desires and ambitions were rarely, if ever acknowledged. These gender norms are challenged in Geoffrey

Chaucer’s “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” and Marie De France’s “Lanval”. In these tales, women have various desires however use different tactics to implement their desires. They both desire power in their relationships yet achieve it in different ways.
“The Wife of Bath’s Tale Prologue” begins with the Wife proposing, “To speak of the woe that is in marriage” (682). Asserting authority to do so because she has been married five times. In keeping up with her claim to speak from experience, The Wife goes on to illustrate how she has used her manipulative ways and qualities to get what she wants from men and eventually gain power over them. Despite her wordiness on the subject of marriage, it’s obvious that the Wife just wants to attain power by finding a husband. Her desire to achieve marriage and then power is clear as she uses time to her advantage. “Welcome the sixth, when he shall come along. In truth, I won’t keep chaste for very long. And when my husband from this world has passed, Another Christian man will wed me fast” (683). The Wife of Bath makes it apparent that she will not be available forever because she will eventually find another man to marry soon. She also wastes no time openly expressing that she is blessed to have found the best men in terms of their wealth and genitals. “Blessed be God that I have wedded five! Of whom I have picked out the best, for both their nether purse, and money chest” (683).
The Wife uses verbal tactics to gain financial and sexual power through the traditionally confining institution of marriage. She gives the wise wives advice on gaining the upper hand in the relationship by accusing the husband of cheating and being unfaithful. “A wise wife, who knows what’s good for her, will swear the tattling crow is mad for her, and make sure that her maid has assented as her witness.” (687) By making false accusations this would make the husband feel guilty and as a result he would give her what she wanted. She criticized her husbands every move and kept her them busy by trying to please her with attention and material wealth.
Instead of women relinquishing power in favor of submission, Marie’s characters in “Lanval” use submission as a tactic in order to achieve their desires. Marie de France’s “Lanval” presents two strong female characters: the fairy lady and Guinevere. Readers often see them as very different characters. For example, the fairy lady is beautiful, forgiving, and gracious while Guinevere is jealous and cruel. However, despite their differences, these women are actually very similar. They both have a certain amount of control over their own lives, they are both beautiful, although to different degrees, and they both want to actualize their desires, most notably to make Lanval their lover. Attaining one’s desire is the important issue for these women, but it is also hard for them to achieve. Especially in medieval literature, women face problems or obstacles when they try to reach a goal and fulfill a want. Nothing is handed to these women; they must work to make their desires a reality. Ironically, both women work hard to enact their desires, but only the fairy lady succeeds due to her deceptive tactics.
Only by pretending to conform to patriarchal values do women achieve their desires. Both women pretend to conform: The fairy lady makes Lanval believe she has his best interests in mind even though she has ulterior motives, and Guinevere seeks a lover while continuing to act as Arthur’s chaste and virtuous queen. Unable to change the patriarchy and Arthur’s world, the fairy lady’s only solution is to return to Avalon. Therefore, female empowerment serves masculinist fantasy in hopes to enact a change in society, but in a final twist, the lai turns into a feminist fantasy of escape from a stubborn society.
Marie’s situation, with regard to textual authority, mirrors that of the fairy lady; for them, author and character, to obtain freedom over life or text, they must go beyond patriarchal society and sources. In effect, they must pave their own roads to achieve their desires. Marie takes a tradition that has been dominated by men and finds a space in which she can assert feminine authorship and make the Arthurian tradition her own.
Both the fairy lady and Guinevere use tactics, that is, they wait for the right moment to achieve their desires.

The fairy lady waits for the opportunity to lure Lanval to her tents; she doesn’t storm into Camelot and demand to see Lanval. Then, the fairy lady remains in her tents until Lanval summons her. Therefore, the fairy lady operates with regard to time, not space. Guinevere also maintains a tactical position. She waits until her ladies are occupied with other knights and Lanval withdraws from company: “When the queen saw the knight sitting alone, she approached him straightaway” (305). As a married woman, she cannot broach the subject of them becoming lovers just anywhere. She must delay her advance until Lanval is alone and no one can overhear their conversation.

Guinevere’s use of tactics is manifested through her language. Despite her lack of public authority, Guinevere does have linguistic power. Approaching Lanval, she tells him, “Lanval, I have honoured, cherished and loved you much. You may have all my love: just tell me what you desire! I grant you my love and you should be glad to have me” (307). Through her words, she tries to convince Lanval to become her lover. She cannot physically force Lanval to love her, nor can she rape him. Her words, along with her beauty, are her sources of

influence.
The fairy lady also demonstrates linguistic power at a tactic, but this power is, ironically enough, demonstrated more by her silence than her speech. Her silence, instead of signaling submission, shows strength and power. She does not talk at the beginning of the lai because she requires Lanval’s submission; it is his turn to talk. She is absent in the middle of the lai because Lanval has betrayed her, and she has abandoned him, as a consequence. Had she been submissive, she would have spoken words of submission to Lanval and would not have stayed by his side despite his betrayal. Therefore, silence is a useful tactic for the fairy lady to employ. Abandoning Lanval has given her control over the relationship completely, not just hidden control. When she does speak to acquit Lanval, she cinches her hold over him and the relationship.
When proving Lanval’s innocence, the fairy lady also uses bodily tactics. Because Lanval boasts about her beauty, Arthur’s court really wants to know how beautiful she is. Therefore, her body, more than her words, acquit Lanval. Marie writes, “The lady entered the palace, where no one so beautiful had ever before been seen. She dismounted before the king, and in the sight of all, let her cloak fall so that they could see her better. . . .When they had looked at her and praised her beauty greatly, she spoke” (310). She intentionally allows them to admire her beauty and think about Lanval’s claims. She even waits to speak until everyone has seen her and mentally compared her beauty with Guinevere’s. Therefore, she uses her body as a tactic to convince Arthur and his barons to release Lanval.
All of the women presented in the tales used their skills, qualities, and manipulative ways to get what they desire. They were able to make decisions for themselves and make choices in their favor. Interesting enough, today these gender norms are still a big topic of discussion. Men are portrayed to be economically powerful, wealthy and educated, while women seem to have to get what they need by appealing to or using trickery towards men.