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The Wife of Bath
The Wife of Bath:An Illusion of Reality
When one thinks of marriage, the most common
ideal is equality of
control among man and woman. Chaucer incorporates two opposing
viewpoints on marriage in The Canterbury Tales. The Wife of
Baths tale, in which she says that one spouse, preferably
the wife, must have mastery over the other. On the other
hand, The Franklins tale disapproves of the Wife of Baths
philosophy by saying that equality and trust are essential
in holding a marriage together as expressed here:
.... And to enhance the bliss of
both of their lives. He freely gave his promise 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)
Now, the question is, Can the typical reader
find the Wife of Bath
a trustworthy person. David Parker, a literary critic,
believes that The Wife of Bath Should not be fully
trusted, due to the contradictory things she said about her
relationships with her five husbands in her prologue. With
the first three husbands, the Wife was happy because she was
married to wealthy men, but was unhappy because they were old
and could not fulfill her sexual desires. On the other hand,
with her last two husbands, the Wife got her sexual desires
fulfilled, but theres a huge question mark about her mastery
of her younger husbands. Her relationship with her fifth, and
last husband, is a prime example of this contradiction. When
John, her fifth husband, hit her it was apparent to the
reader, and to me, that she wasnt in the very blissful
marriage as seen here
...Then like a maddened lion,
with a yell he started up and smote me on the head and down
I fell upon the floor for dead. And when he saw how
motionless I lay he was aghast and would have flown away, but
in the end, I started coming to....(297)
Here, its evident to me that the Wife was
very submissive in this
marriage and that her husband is the one who shows the
mastery. What didnt surprise me at the end of her prologue
was the fact that everything was sweet and rosy and that
...about 300 miles (compared to the 70 miles of the first-generation EV1) . Environmentally, US air quality is worse than it was 20 years ago, and consumers have begun to notice. This will likely contribute to an increased demand for zero- and low-emissions vehicles. Legislation has once again been introduced providing tax incentives, rebates, and even free parking for purchasers of hybrid and electric vehicles. By 2005, over 200,000 hybrid vehicle rebates were cashed in the US, and this number continues to rise .
Countess Elizabeth Bathory of Hungary, was born in 1560. That was a long time ago. Where you could do almost anything if you were a noble and you could get away with it. This was especially true in Elizabeth Bathory’s time. This was the reason she was able to kill over 600 virgin women to bathe in their blood. Only to make her complexion even better. She was later referred to as Count Dracula, because of her horrible treatment to her victims.
Much has been written about the historical life of Eleanor of Aquitane. Her life, Undoubtedly reads like legend, at least in part because it is. It is fairly safe to say that the world had never seen a woman like Eleanor of Aquitane, and it is doubtful that there has been a woman since who could rival her power, intelligence, beauty and sheer force of will.
Louis Comfort Tiffany was originally trained as a painter, but began studying the techniques of glassmaking when he was 24. In 1885, Tiffany established his own studios, employing teams of designers and craftspeople to translate his vision into works material works of art (Morsemuseum.org, 2014). Tiffany Studios, during its 50-year history, produced an approximated 5,000 windows. Many of these windows had religious themes, such as The Righteous Shall Receive a Crown of Glory (Tiffany, 1901). This window’s theme “celebrates victory over death, and the joyous theme of resurrection” (Cmog.org, 2014). Tiffany’s window depictions were overall more optimistic than most other 19th-century stained glass memorials, w...
Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the most powerful women of the Dark Ages. She was married to one the best kings of the Dark Ages, Henry II. Growing up, she was well educated and was raised in one of Europe’s most cultured courts. She gained a vast inheritance when her only brother and father died. Being the eldest of the siblings, at fifteen-years-old, Eleanor had become the most eligible heiress in Europe.
As the story goes, Rome was founding in 753 B.C. by two brothers Remus and Romulus who were raised by wolves. The two brothers started fighting over the leadership of the land. Eventually Romulus killed Remus and took control own his own. The city was only a small settlement at that time. As the civilization grew, the Etruscans took over. The Romans drove out the Etruscans in 509 B.C. By this time Rome had become a city. As the empire came to its peak it included lands throughout the Mediterranean world. Rome had first expanded into other parts of Italy and neighboring places during the Roman Republic, but made wider conquests and made a strong political power for these lands. In 44 BC Gaius Julius Caesar, the Roman leader who ruled the Roman Republic as a dictator was assassinated. Rome descended into more than ten years of civil war. After years of civil war, Caesar's heir Gaius Octavius (also known as Octavian) defeated his last rivals. In 27 B.C. the Senate gave him the name Augustus, meaning the exalted or holy one. In this way Augustus established the monarchy that became known as the Roman Empire. The Roman Republic, which lasted nearly 500 years, did not exist anymore. The emperor Augustus reigned from 27 BC to AD 14 and ruled with great power. He had reestabl...
The 2006 documentary about Who Killed the Electric Car shows the determination of several California citizens whose willpower was to keep the electric car alive and running. The first existence of the electric car under General Motors (GM) dates back to 1996 when they launched the EV1 electric vehicle. And although several consumers took to this new form of transportation, a car that was powered by an electric motor in place of the basic gasoline engine, GM decided to take back its newest technology and removed all existing EV1’s from off of the streets. With several upset consumers who were concerned as to both what GM and the government were up to and how they could get their cars back. Overall, the fact behind why the electric car became such a superior commodity and then vanished was the question being asked. The electric vehicle was destroyed during 2004 and 2005 because a car of this statue was far ahead of its time and greater parts of consumers were not about “going green.” Today the electric car has begun to revive itself because of the existence of global warming, and the efficiency of the electric car is rising. In other words, the electric car has been brought back to life, and many automobile manufacturers are gaining interest.
Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one God. There are three of the most influential monotheistic religions in world history today known as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These three religions share both vast similarities and differences. One significant similarity they share is the belief in one deity. The belief of one God gave many people guidance and purpose in their lives. For this reason, these three religions gained many followers and believers who had faith in God. Through faithfulness in God, many were promised eternal paradise. In the following paragraphs, I will explain the similarities and differences between the rituals, holy scripts, and salvation that these religions shared.
Like the famous saying goes, Rome wasn 't built in a day, and that couldn 't be truer. There are many things that led to the founding of Rome, and those things ultimately led to the great Roman Empire that controlled Europe, Northern Africa, and Western Asia at its peak. The events that led up to the widely accepted founding date of 753 BC, can mostly be attributed to the geography of the area that became known as Rome, although there is a significant legend that includes a murderous twin. Overall, through Greek and Etruscan influences, the geography of Rome led to the founding of the republic as a trade depot.
In our world today, many people are either born and raised into a religion or eventually grow into becoming part of one. Two different types of religions are: monotheism and polytheism. Monotheism is the doctrine or belief that there is only one god. Well-known Monotheistic religions are: Judaism, Christianity, and Islamic. Polytheism is the belief in or worship of more than one god. Most religions throughout history have been noted to have been Polytheistic.
One of the most interesting and widely interpreted characters in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer is the Wife of Bath. She has had five different husbands and openly admits to marrying the majority of them for their money. The wife appears to be more outspoken and independent than most women of medieval times, and has therefore been thought to symbolize the cause of feminism; some even refer to her as the first actual feminist character in literature. Readers and scholars probably argue in favor of this idea because in The Canterbury Tales, she uniquely gives her own insight and opinions on how relations between men and women should be carried out. Also, the meaning of her tale is that virtually all women want to be granted control over themselves and their relationship with their husbands, which seems to convince people that the Wife of Bath should be viewed as some sort of revolutionary feminist of her time. This idea, however, is incorrect. The truth is that the Wife of Bath, or Alisoun, merely confirms negative stereotypes of women; she is deceitful, promiscuous, and clandestine. She does very little that is actually empowering or revolutionary for women, but instead tries to empower herself by using her body to gain control over her various husbands. The Wife of Bath is insecure, cynical towards men in general, and ultimately, a confirmation of misogynistic stereotypes of women.
“We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum of the Father’s love for us and our real capacity to become the image of his Son.” Said by St. Pope John Paul II during one of his World Youth Day homilies this quote perfectly represents the man that St. Pope John Paul II was: a bold, forgiving, selfless, and loving man. Born on May 18, 1920 in Wadowice, Poland; John Paul II suffered a number of tragedies in the early years of his life. By the age of the twenty he lost all of his immediate family, and he credits the death of his father as the point in his life when he heard the call to live a life of religious vocation. In 1939, about one year after John Paul enrolled in The Krawkow Jaggelonian University, the Nazi closed the school and to avoid deportation to Germany all able men had to work. From 1940 to 1941 his holiness did various jobs, but it was during this time period that he was seriously contemplating priesthood. In 1942 John Paul II started studying at the underground seminary run by the Archbishop of Krakow, and during this time he was hit by a truck and recovered in matter of two weeks. To him this was a confirmation of his vocation. Once the war was finished the future pope was ordained priest and was then sent to Rome for further studies. After a two year time period in Rome, His Holy Father received his doctorate in theology and returned to Poland. After serving in several parishes and becoming a well-known religious face in Poland, St. John Paul II became the bishop of Ombi. During the six year time period that his holiness was the Bishop of Ombi, he achieved one of his life’s major accomplishments: he became one of the leading thinkers on the Vatican II council. While he was one the Vatican II co...
There is a passage in the ‘Wife of Bath’s Prologue’ wherein the Wife explains and justifies her early relationship with Janekin. For some critics, like Mary Hamel and Dolores Palomo , this is where the Wife entices Janekin to murder her fourth husband in order to wed her. However, whether this occurred is not the argument here. Instead, discussion shall draw attention to a specific stylistic choice that is often overlooked when focusing on the Wife’s murderous intent, despite it raising some interesting questions about the Wife’s character.
The future American commuter will undoubtedly have to transition from the use of fossil fuels to new alternatives due to the diminishing availability of the nation’s oil resources. How will America respond to this upcoming issue? It is difficult to predict which alternative fuel source America will ultimately choose, but with the premier of Nissan’s electric powered Leaf and other companies; such as Tesla Motors and Chevy, with their electric cars ready for market, the electric car may be winning the race to become the new standard for the gasoline alternative. Electric cars resolve long standing environmental issues, but it will need to maneuver around many roadblocks to become a marketable consideration for the general public. The cost of electric cars, currently on the market, makes them an impractical purchase for the average consumer. If cost is not the growing concern in today’s economy which prevents the consumer from considering this option; they may deny the technological advance due to battery storage capabilities and the inadequate infrastructure in place to refuel and provide for them.
Automobiles and its related manufacturing contribute to the degradation of the environment causing great concerns from consumers, governments, policy makers and environmentalists, regarding the economy and global warming. This resulted in market changes, due to new environmental laws, legislations, standards, product requirements and consumer wants. The gasoline engine produces emissions that are deadly for the environment, hence the big race by the automobile producers to develop an efficient alternative fuel/energy for powering its vehicles. Deloite (2014) ‘In 2012, new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards were released in the U.S. that requires automakers to raise the average fuel efficiency of new cars and trucks to 54.5 MPG by 2025.’ (“Global Automotive Consumer Study”, 2014, p.4) The industry is engaged in research and development to develop more efficient internal combustion engines, electric vehicles (EVs), plug-in hybrids, and vehicles powered by natural gas. The government offers incentives in the form of rebates for the purchase and sale of energy efficient