Stereotypes In Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales is a collection that withstands the test of time. Written in the fourteenth century, Chaucer skillfully illuminates different ranks and correlating stereotypes that existed throughout society through a storytelling competition. The competition, consisting of a prologue and tale from each character on their pilgrimage to Canterbury, offers life messages from different societal perspectives. Although the tales are memorable for many reasons—including their absurdity, nobleness, wisdom, and crudeness—one tale (and character) in particular stands out from the rest: The Wife of Bath. The Wife of Bath and her prologue and tale depict what were seen as radical and provocative ideas, the main belief being that women should have

control over their husbands and their own lives. The Canterbury Tales has been translated and modernized throughout the years, showing its relevance in our society today. BBC created a Russian/Welsh series of cartoons of The Canterbury Tales, one for each character on the pilgrimage. When looking at the Wife of Bath’s BBC cartoon and comparing it to Chaucer’s version, it is very clear that fundamental differences exist between the two. In The Canterbury Tales, although the Wife of Bath has to fight for her authority, to the reader, her authority is validated and she is seen as a powerful force to be reckoned with. In the BBC cartoon, through not establishing the Wife of Bath’s character via her prologue, dramatizing the tale to a greater extent, depicting the female characters much more aggressive than the male characters, and the general act of portraying women in a bad light, the Wife of Bath loses credibility. While the BBC episode stays generally true to the plot of Chaucer’s “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale”, by skipping her prologue and negatively emphasizing and dramatizing scenarios where women are in power, the Wife of Bath’s character and message are delegitimized.
Both versions of “The Wife of Bath” in Chaucer’s collection and in the BBC cartoon series follow the same general storyline.

A knight is facing his death sentence by the Queen for raping a woman. The Queen allows the knight to search for a year and a day to figure out what women want most in the world; if he cannot find the correct answer, he will be decapitated. The knight goes on his quest for the answer, and receives different solutions from each character he meets. Some say women want money, others say love, some say sex, the list goes on. The knight is about to give up when he sees women dancing in the forest—once he approaches, the fairy-like women disappear and he is left with an old lady. The old lady promises that she has the answer that will spare his life, but in return the knight must promise to do something for her. The knight accepts and they ride to the court together to face the Queen. The knight proclaims to the Queen that women want to be in control of their husbands; the answer is accepted, and by keeping his word, the knight is forced to marry the old woman. The knight is distraught about the situation, causing the old woman to offer him the choice of her identity. The knight can choose to have her be young, beautiful, and unfaithful, or old, ugly, and faithful. The knight is so flustered that he allows his wife to choose her identity for herself; because he let the old woman decide, she chooses to become young, beautiful, and

faithful.
In “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale”, the Wife of Bath begins by illuminating the company on her past marital experience. She is a professional wife and business woman; she has had five husbands, both young and old, and has dealt with her fair share of traumas within her relationships. Her negative past marital experiences—such as her favorite husband, Janekyn, beating her with his version of the Bible called “The Book of Wikkid Wyves”—helps establish credibility in regards to her views on marriage and her past as a professional wife. The Wife of Bath constantly has to establish authority and explain her actions as a way of validating her beliefs to the company on the pilgrimage. She relates her own relationship experiences with figures from The Old Testament, such as Jacob and Paul; since they had multiple partners, it should not be a crime for her to have multiple partners as well. She manipulates her husbands and lovers as a means of gaining control and getting what she wants; although it is not an amicable quality, she is brutally honest and stands by her actions, solidifying her character. She has traveled the world on multiple pilgrimages, made her own money as a businesswoman, and embraces her sexuality to the fullest extent. She is consistently interrupted by the others on the pilgrimage, especially in her prologue:
“Up sterte the Pardoner, and that anon. “Now dame,” quod he,“by God and by Seint John, ye be a noble prechour in this cas! What should I bye it on my flesh so dere? Yet hadde I levere wedde no wyf-to-yere!” (Chaucer 106).

With that being said, she continues to preach regardless. Her prologue is one of the longest among the collection, not only because the length correlates with her personality, but also because she has to establish her credibility much more than the other ranks. Regardless of the time it takes the Wife of Bath to be taken seriously by the company, she tells a memorable story while illuminating the connectivity between her tale and her identity (as shown through her prologue).
One of the biggest differences in the BBC cartoon—which stands as the main reason why the Wife of Bath does not have the same powerful effect and legitimacy as her character does in the collection—is that the cartoon completely skips her prologue. The Wife of Bath episode begins with her flirting with the Friar and kissing him (BBC 0:25); the Summoner interjects among their interaction and begins to argue with the Friar (BBC 0:35). Although the nature of the interruption aligns with Chaucer’s version, because the Wife of Bath does not preach her prologue and instead the viewer only has her flirtatious encounter with the Friar to base her character off of, the same impression is not made. Her strongly rooted beliefs and values, along with her evidence to support them, are lost in the cartoon. Although she is physically depicted the same—with a gap toothed smile, a red robe, and curves—her character and personality comes off different. The Wife of Bath is sexualized in a way that is different than in the collection due to the fact that she is not proclaiming her sexuality on her own terms; she comes across as a strictly promiscuous woman through her interaction with the friar, and is not given the chance to illustrate it and defend it for herself. Because of this, it is not made evident to the viewer that her tale aligns so closely with her as a character; this causes it to lose the impact it has in The Canterbury Tales.