Wife of Bath’s Disposition of Men Experienced, fanciful, and knowledgeable. These three words are used to describe the character, the Wife of Bath. The Wife of Bath gives the story of her and her complicated love life. Throughout the story, the reader gets a visual representation of what the Wife of Bath thinks of both herself and the men who surround her. The Wife of Bath had traveled the world and been married multiple times. Her character is both seemingly extravagant and knowledgeable. The Wife of Bath seems to be knowledgeable in a religious aspect, as she believes that God expects women to be “fruitful” and multiply (quote). When asked of how many men that a woman should be with in one life time, she never is able to give an exact …show more content…
Her inability to stay dedicated or truthful to one man shows her incapability of commitment or her misogynist stereotype. However, she sees it as their fault. If a man is unable to be submissive to her needs or give her what she requests, he becomes useless to her and, in turn, she leaves him. She believes in a world where women dominate men, and not the other way around. To the Wife of Bath, men are incapable of doing anything correct, including pleasing women. She continues on to tell the tale of the young knight who, in order to save himself, must find the one thing that all women want and desire. At the end of the story, it is found that the one thing women desire is to be in control of the men in their lives; and for the submission of men. The man is freed from his death, but must keep is word to the old woman and take her hand in marriage. At the end of his story, the old woman gives the knight a choice; a beautiful, lusty, untrustworthy woman, or an old faithful hag, The knight, unwilling to make the wrong decision, leaves the resolution up to the woman. This is exactly what the woman wanted - the ability to control the man. Given this ability, she becomes everything the knight could desire. This story expresses the Wife of Bath’s similar wants and needs such as the ability to dominate her
The Wife of Bath upholds the misogynistic image of women for only one of many reason: she is controlling. She is a very forwardly dominant female, and she likes to be in control of her relationships. She shared in the prologue that she liked to govern her husbands according to the way she saw fit. She believes
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...
The Wife of Bath in The Canterbury Tales, a novel by Geoffrey Chaucer, is defined by her desires. Firstly, “Why should I care if they were pleased/ I was the one to be appeased.” (Line:220-221 pg:112) Her principal focus is to suffice her pleasures rather than to have a good relationship with all five of her husband's. She Also disregarded all their emotions and if she hurt them during the process of satisfying her ambitions. Additionally, “No doubt you understand this tale/ prepare to pay; it’s all for sale.” (line:420-421 pg:117) In this quote she even admits that her desires for money override her need of sexual activities. She is risking everything, even her body, all because she has this thirst for money. Finally, “Robbed and murdered,
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...
In the Wife of Baths Prologue, her true colors unfurl which gives the reader the sense of who the Wife of Bath is and where her mind is in terms of the gender inequality. Her prologue also lays down the path to the direction her tale is going to go. The wife of Bath makes it clear that more than anyone it is her that has experience in the field of marriage just from her tone one can see she is a woman with a desire for authority. The Wife's Prologue is the framework that allows room for making distinctions on all the issue women in the Middle Ages face and indeed with her hearty an well define details she is left to be an unforgettable icon of the Canterbury tales . It is suspected that the Wife of Bath feels strongly on the notion...
The Wife of Bath has used men in her life for riches. She leans toward a feminist nature and seems resentful toward most men. For women, she is easy to respect and admire. She is an intelligent woman, however, she may not know the limits of her games. That is the beauty of society. Thousands of years after this novel has been written, men and women still don not know what one another want. In taking both Psychology and Sociology this year, I hope to grasp a better understanding on how both sexes co-exist with one another.
According to the Wife of Bath, sovereignty, or power, over their husbands is what women desire most in their lives:
The Wife of Bath’s insecurity and cynicism are just two of the ways in which she fulfils negative stereotypes of women. She tries to separate herself from other women of her time by taking control of her life by means of sex, but if she were truly progressive, she would have found a way to elevate herself without using her body. Alisoun is exactly what men fear and dislike about women; she is promiscuously sneaky, and she takes advantage of men. This is why while trying to present herself as strong and independent, her actions ultimately confirm misogynistic stereotypes of women; in the end, she is even more digressive to the cause feminism than a normal woman would be.
“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.
The wife of bath strongly argued in favour of female “maistrye.” She argued this in the prologue and used the tale to bring the message home. Her arguments are weakened however by the destructive and careless behaviour of the Wife of Bath. She openly laughs at them (“I laugh whan I thinke”) when she thinks of how she made her husbands toil at night. She doesn’t seem to regret the...
However, a divorced woman is automatically viewed as less desirable for suitors if she chooses to marry again. The unfairness of this advantage in the marriage market is presented throughout the poem. Women are viewed as objects that are meant to only serve their husbands commands. The Wife of Bath takes charge in reverses the stereotypical roles by taking charge in her first two marriages and her overall views on sex. Her carefree attitude strikes down the connation’s that women should only be limited to having sex for procreation and for her own personal pleasure. She explains how God wanted Adam and Eve to multiply and that is only possible by having sex. The Wife of Bath elaborates, “But wel I woot expres, withoute lye, God bad us for to wexe and multiplye: That gentil text can I wel understonde. “ (27-29). She uses the bible as a template to justify her actions of having sex for pleasure and procreation. As the church uses the bible to socially repress women from their sexuality. In addition, the wife of bath describes the difference in viewpoints for husbands and wives on their positions in a marriage. A woman in this time period looks at marriage as a profession where she obliges to her husband’s every command. A man looks at marriage more for pleasure and enjoyment. The wife explains the power
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.
Riddled with a lifetime of experience and the pleasure of a plentiful amount of men, the Wife of Bath shamelessly exploits her sexuality and uses manipulation to gain wealth and power. Her shameless seething is entirely for her own gain and unquestionably confirms the long tradition of anti-feministic literature that presents women as morally corrupt and lustful. The Wife of Bath uses sex as a way to get into her husband's wallets. “So I made them work hard every night to please me, which often made them sigh in frustration. I had each of them wrapped around my little finger so tightly that they were all too happy to buy me nice things and jump for joy whenever I said anything nice to them (because God knows I scolded them often!)”