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THE WIFE OF BATH
In the “Wife of Bath’s Prologue,” she begins her introduction by telling the other pilgrims that she has experience because she has been married five time. She believes more in experience rather than in written authority (that is , in texts written by men). The Wife of Bath argues with virginity: “Where can ye saye in any manere age that hye God defended mariage by expres word? I praye you, telleth me. Or Where comanded he virginitee?” [Norton,118] She asks where in the bible is virginity commanded? If God condemned virginity, there would be no children, and no population: “For hadde God comanded maidenhede, Thanne hadde he dampned wedding with the deede; And certes, if there were no seed ysowe, Virginitee, thanne wherof sholde it growe?” [Norton,118] She then says how she is not jealous of virgin women, and how she always has her man in her bed. The Pardoner, hearing this, interrupts her in disgust and tells her how he has been thinking about marriage but now is glad that he is a single guy.
The Wife of Bath then tells the other pilgrims what has happened to her five husbands. She says, “Tho housbonds that I hadde, As three of hem were goode, and two were badde. The three men were goode, and riche, and olde”[Norton,121]. In other words, the first three husbands were good to her; they were old and had money to take care of her. The fourth husband she had no control over. He was a reveler who loved to party. The Wife of Bath has a problem with him because he has a mistress. To get even with him, she tries to make him jealous. She torments him so much in life that she prays he is now in heaven. “The fifth husband she truly loved but there was one problem; he was abusive”[Norton,128]. The Wi...
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...to pursue the man as well as to divorce him.
In many households, you can also see the husband cleaning, cooking, and taking care of the children. Most of the married couples now share chores around the house. They respect as well as help each other during difficulties of life. Women can now raise children, educate them and direct them to a good life without the monetary support of the husband.
As we can see, times have changed for the better. I must say some things still need improvement. Some men are still old fashioned and think they can control and look down on their wife. Some men still do not think a woman should have power in court, at home or in the office. Men believe that a woman’s place is in the home. What do you think?
Works Cited
Abrams, M.H. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. NewYork: W.W. Norton &Company, Inc., 1993
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
Baruch College has been a prominent element in the Murray Hill and Tribeca area of Manhattan for more than a century. Established in 1919, by Bernard M. Baruch, the college has provided a steady influx of cash flow to local businesses for more than a century, thanks to its students' patronage and services' demands. It can be safely inferred that Baruch College financially fuels the area to this day with its 13,777 (colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com).
Regularly characterized as monsters, women were ridiculed for being sexually unappeasable, lustful, and shrewish, and they were regarded with condescension by the church authorities. Similarly, people in the medieval era regarded multiple marriages as highly questionable, and it is for this reason that the Wife of Bath carefully examines the words of God as revealed in scripture (revealing her to be more than a simple-minded woman: a knowledge of religious texts proves she is definitely educated and well-read). She confesses that nowhere can she find a stricture against her having more than one marriage, and her five husbands are therefore her choice and hers only. “He seith to be wedded is no synne:/ Bet is to be wedded than to brynne”, she remarks humorously, drawing on the fact that by God’s permission, finding a partner through marriage is a pastime with little consequences, for it is better than engaging in sin and burning for it (50-53. 301). This begins her analysis of the bible and the often “sinful” breakdown of a sexual relationship between man and woman, and introduces her repetitive idea of the
Shead, Jackie. "'The wife of bath's tale' as self-revelation: Jackie Shead discusses how far the Wife's Tale perpetuates the picture we have gained of her from her Prologue." The English Review Feb. 2010: 35+. General OneFile. Web. 24 Feb. 2011.
Many critics throughout the years have given the Wife of Bath a title of that of a feminist. She is a strong-willed and dominant woman who gets what she wants when she wants it, by manipulating her husbands into feeling bad for things that they didn’t do, or by saying things that put them to utter shame. No man has ever been able to give an exact answer when she asks to know how many husbands a woman may have in her life...
The Wife of Bath explains that despite having five husbands, “marriage is a misery and a woe” (Chaucer 1). As a reader, this is somewhat humorous because of the irony. This irony sets a light-hearted tone for the rest of the Prologue. The Wife of Bath demonstrates that her multiple marriages stem from her burning desire for sovereignty. Not only does the Wife of Bath long for power over her husbands, she also enjoys the game of gaining sovereignty over men. This pleasure is most prominently exhibited when she is faced with her fifth husband. Despite being abused by him, she claims to have loved him the most. Although this irony is dark, the irony makes the situation more comical. Eventually, she gains power in their relationship and the husband says, “My own and truest wife, do as you please for all the rest of life, but guard your honor and my good estate” (Chaucer 129). By turning over his land, he has admitted to be submissive in their relationship. While the ironies make this Prologue somewhat humorous, the satire demonstrates that women should be in power over men. The Wife of Bath has been in power in all five of her marriages, which sets a precedent for other women. The Wife of Bath not only shows that women should have sovereignty, but that the game to fight for sovereignty is entertaining and exciting as well. Just as William Thrall has said, Chaucer
There was a time when women typically maintained the home and raised children while the husbands were the sole bread-winners for the family finances. However, times have changed and so have women’s rights and expectations for divorce, education, an...
One of the reasons why divorce rates are high now, is because women are economically independent because they are educated. They did used to earn in the past, but now they have control over their income and they don’t put up with things like men abusing them or domestic violence; this shows that women have become stronger economically and emotionally as compared to how they were in the past. Those who criticize women for working and not spending time with their children, Coontz states that, “Kids do better when their mothers are happy with their lives.” (Coontze98). Men have changed as well; men didn’t used to think that children were their responsibility.
Virtually everything the Wife of Bath does or says regarding different aspects of her life demonstrates that she is very insecure about herself. She begins her prologue by informing the travelers that she has the authority to argue about and discuss marriage because of her experiences: “Experience, though noon auctori...
“The Wife of Bath’s Tale” in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer is a story about a widow who took a pilgrimage to the town of Canterbury with an array of dynamic characters whose diverse backgrounds allowed them to share their stories with one another to make the long journey more interesting. The widow named Alisoun in the “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” told the tale of her experiences with her five past husbands and a story about a knight and a witch. She truly believed that for a woman to have a happy life she would need to gain dominion over a man; however one could assume this was programmed into her by her influential mother and her own religious doctrines. Accordingly, Alisoun argued that the woman must control everything in order to have a happy marriage; however, her life experience and the story she shared should tell her otherwise.
Over the years, the roles of women have drastically changed. They have been trapped, dominated, and enslaved by their marriage. Women have slowly evolved into individuals that have rights and can stand on their own. They myth that women are only meant to be housewives has been changed. However, this change did not happen overnight, it took years to happen. The patriarchal society ruled in every household in earlier times and I believe had a major effect on the wives of the families. “The Story of an Hour”, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and Trifles all show how women felt obligated to stay with their husbands despite the fact they were unhappy with them
In the Wife of Bath, the Wife’s prologue is very lengthy and has her information about her life. The prologue explains the Wife’s theories about experiences versus authority. The Wife of Bath have already had five husband, which means she had enough experience on marriage to make her an expert. She is not ashamed of her life or marriages and feels she should not be criticize for her behavior. The Wife reference several biblical quotes to justify her views and explains she does not feel God should punish those who marry more than once. As the prologue goes on, the Wife of Bath describes her marriages and tells what women most desire in their relationship. The thing that women most desire is to have complete control over their husbands.
The Wife of Bath is a wealthy and elegant woman with extravagant, brand new clothing. She is from Bath, a key English cloth-making town in the Middle Ages, making her a talented seam stress. Before the wife begins her tale, she informs the audience about her life and personal experience on marriage, in a lengthy prologue. The Wife of Bath initiates her prologue by declaring that she has had five husbands, giving her enough experience to make her an expert on marriage. Numerous people have criticized her for having had many husbands, but she does not see anything immoral about it. Most people established negative views on her marriages, based on the interpretation of what Christ meant when he told a Samaritan woman that her fifth husband was not her husband. To support her situation, the Wife introduced a key figure that had multiple wives: King Solomon.
Men has changed for the better, well some, they are taken care of their family while the wife go out in works. Some men even works in take care of their kids if the wife are partner is not in the picture anymore. Men are learning to step up to the plate every year. Men are getting more and more involve in their kids lives by being around more.
fuels include coal, oil, and natural gas. When people burn fossil fuels, they release carbon