Throughout “The Canterbury Tales” one the things that all the tellers have in common is love. Not all of the tellers agree about what love is, however, or how it should be shared. They all contemplate about related concepts, including marriage, fidelity, and chastity, and argue about men’s and women’s roles in the context of an intimate relationship. He shows two different viewpoints on the roles in The Canterbury Tales.
The Wife of Bath’s Tale, where the tale says that one spouse, in her case the wife, must be dominant in the marriage. While, The Franklin’s tale does not condone of her philosophy by saying that equality and trust are essential in holding a marriage together expressed here:” … To enhance bliss of both of their lives. He also gave his word as a knight that he would never darken her delight by exercising his authority against her will or showing jealousy but would obey her in all with simple trust as any lover of a lady must…” (427) Chaucer
But, the real question is whether or not the readers feel as if the Wife of Bath a reliable person. David Parker, a literary critic, feels that The Wife of Bath should not be trusted. “Due to the different confusing things that she told in her story about her five different husbands in her story, when she was with her first three husbands, she admitted that she only married them because they were rich, but unfortunately, they were all much older and they were not able to fulfill her sexual needs.”
Even though, with her last two husbands she did in fact have her sexual needs fulfilled, there was still a big question about her marriages. While in the relationship with her last husband, Jankyn, hit her it should have been obvious to the reader that she was not in a blissful marriage...
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...l his land to her. She, in return, acted kindly and loving towards him, not that it really mattered because she ended up getting what she wanted anyways.
In conclusion, the Wife wants what every woman in the tales wants in a relationship; power. Because of her longing for power she becomes envious of the hag, whom she compares herself with throughout. She wishes that even though she is ugly, as the hag is, she could have the power that the hag has. Many women most likely took the Wife of Bath’s tale and prologue as a delusion, seeing that they would never be able to do those kinds of things to husbands of their own. In today’s society, the Wife of Bath‘s story could compare to Hillary Clinton’s views and thoughts on marriage which to others were absurd and foolish. People may say that she failed as a wife, but as a woman, she exceeded everybody’s beliefs by a mile.
In Geoffrey Chaucer's work, The Canterbury Tales, many travelers gather together to begin a pilgrimage. During their quest, each of the pilgrims proceed to tell a tale to entertain the group. From these stories arise four different tales, in which Chaucer uses to examine the concept of marriage and the problems that arise from this bonding of two people. In the tales of "The Franklin", "The Clerk", "The Wife of Bath", and "The Merchant", marriage is debated and examined from different perspectives. Out of the four tales, The Franklin's Tale presents the most reasonable solution to the marriage debate because the problems are resolved with the least amount of heartache.
The wife of bath shows us greed throughout the whole play. She wants to gain sovereignty over her husbands. She believes a happy relationship is one where the wife
Additionally, Wife of Bath’s idea and desire is for all women to achieve sovereignty which doesn’t necessarily mean that it won’t favor men. As you can see, the Wife acts as a feminist here. Although, Alison wants to have the power in the relationship, she b...
Some say women can get the worst out of a man, but in The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer in 1485, proves it. The tales were originally written as a collection of twenty four tales, but has been narrowed down to three short tales for high school readers. The three tales consist of “The Miller”, “The Knight”, and “The Wife of Bath” along with their respective prologues. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer shows the weak but strong role of women throughout the “The Knight’s Tale” and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” to contrast different human characteristics and stereotypes on the spectrum of people.
The dominance of men in the Middle Ages is unethical, irrational, and dangerous; women are given few rights and the opportunity to earn rights is non-existent. The dictates to the dominance is formed by the internal combination of man’s personal desire and religious interference. In Geoffrey Chaucer’s, The Canterbury Tales, the combined perspectives’ on a haughty Pardoner and non-subservient wife is the stronghold of separation in moral roles. The moral roles between men and women are exemplified in the rankings of religious hierarchy for men are at the top and women towards the bottom. Even prestigious women, ones with noble connections, are subservient to men, but contradictorily have religious affiliations. The “Wife of Bath’s Tale” is a perfect example of defying man’s dominance and the “Pardoner’s Tale”, a problematic reasoning of why selfishness connects moreover to the manipulation. The frailties of religious reasoning however, will cause The Pardoner and the Wife of Bath to be separated from society’s morals.
The tale is that of power and who has or should have the control in a relationship is it political, economical, governmental or sexual. The Wife of Bath clearly believes that she, and all women, should have the control in relationships and especially over husbands.
The Wife of Bath is a complex character-she is different from the way she represents herself. Maybe not even what she herself thinks she is. On the surface, it seems as though she is a feminist, defending the rights and power of women over men. She also describes how she dominates her husband, playing on a fear that was common to men. From a point of view of a man during that time period, she seemed to illustrate all of the wrongs that men found in women. Such as a weak parody of what men, then saw as feminists. The Wife of Bath constantly emphasizes the negative implications of women throughout the ages. She describes women as greedy, controlling, and dishonest.
“The life so short, the craft so long to learn” (Famous Quotes). The Canterbury Tales is enriched with humanistic merit that allows the reader to sharpen his or her own craft of life. Specifically, “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” and “The Clerk’s Tale” are embodied with multiple struggles of life that pertain to life in the present. Despite seven centuries of society constantly evolving, the two stories’ plots can still be further analyzed through similar themes about relationships that pertain to modern society and how rhetorical strategy allows the audience to relate to the narrative characters.
She enjoys the thrills of maidenhood too much to have them ended by marriage.... ... middle of paper ... ... The Wife of Bath has used men in her life for riches.
God help me so, I was to him as kind. As any wife from Denmark unto India.(819-820, 828-830). Therefore, according to the "Wife of Bath's Prologue," economic power over their husbands is what women wished to have. However, later, in her "Tale" the Wife of Bath presents another opinion - women wish to have emotional power over their husbands as well. The fact that the hag is able to decide for herself whether to turn into a beautiful wife or to remain in her present state, manifests her power over the husband.
“The noble knight slays the dragon and rescues the fair maiden…and they live happily ever after.” This seemingly cliché finale encompasses all the ideals of courtly love, which began in the Medieval Period and still exists today. While these ideals were prevalent in medieval society, they still existed with much controversy. Geoffrey Chaucer, a poet of the period, comments on courtly love in his work The Canterbury Tales. Through the use of satiric elements and skilled mockery, Chaucer creates a work that not only brought courtly love to the forefront of medieval society but also introduced feministic ideals to the medieval society. At times, Chaucer even makes readers question his beliefs by presenting contrasting elements of principle in The Knight’s Tale and The Wife of Bath’s Tale, both tales told in his profound, multifaceted The Canterbury Tales.
Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, demonstrate many different attitudes and perceptions towards marriage. Some of these ideas are very traditional, such as that illustrated in the Franklin’s Tale. On the other hand, other tales present a liberal view, such as the marriages portrayed in the Miller’s and The Wife of Bath’s tales. While several of these tales are rather comical, they do indeed depict the attitudes towards marriage at that time in history. D.W. Robertson, Jr. calls marriage "the solution to the problem of love, the force which directs the will which is in turn the source of moral action" (Robertson, 88). "Marriage in Chaucer’s time meant a union between spirit and flesh and was thus part of the marriage between Christ and the Church" (Bennett, 113). The Canterbury Tales show many abuses of this sacred bond, as will be discussed below.
In the Middle Ages, when The Canterbury Tales was written, society became captivated by love and the thought of courtly and debonair love was the governing part of all relationships and commanded how love should be conducted. These principles changed literature completely and created a new genre dedicated to brave, valorous knights embarking on noble quests with the intention of some reward, whether that be their life, lover, or any other want. The Canterbury Tales, written in the 14th century by Geoffrey Chaucer, accurately portrays and depicts this type of genre. Containing a collection of stories within the main novel, only one of those stories, entitled “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”, truly outlines the 14th century community beliefs on courtly love.
...ionship dynamics exhibited in both the Wife’s prologue and in her knightly tale place male and female on equal footing; they are by turns equally despicable and commendable. As the Wife finds harmony with the one she loves and the hag provides a happy ending for both herself and for the knight, Chaucer seems to be presenting a balance between the masculine and the feminine: harmony is achieved through sacrifice on both parts. True love and a healthy relationship can never come about without this compromise, because both sexes desire control over the other. Something must be given up on each side. Chaucer implies that female triumph over a male’s control can still bring about a happy ending; as long as they think they’re on top, men will be content, and as long as they are given some semblance of power, women will happily devote themselves to the men they control.
Women have the ability to get what they want, when they want it. Chaucer portrays the Wife of bath as the dominant person in her marriages. She looks at men as her trinkets to be used and played with. She moves from one man to another, always looking for more. The Wife of Bath is a control freak, wanting to have sex when she desires it and with whom she desires.