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The role of women in the middle ages
Explain the character of wife of bath i canterbury tales
Explain the character of wife of bath i canterbury tales
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In the Wife of Bath, Alison is viewed as a cynical women, whom the church views as wicked. If we look deeper into her tale, she opens herself up and I believe that she wants to be viewed as a woman who chases what could truly make her happy. The Wife of Bath does not realize how her words and actions show her to be spiteful woman. My central claim is that the Wife of Bath shows herself as a demanding and awful wife, but she is trying to fight for her place in society, as well as her own happiness. In the time of the Canterbury Tales, men were the authoritative force and women were to be obedient to their husbands. I believe that Alison, the Wife of Bath, is trying to fight for her place, as she is not happy being an obedient and faithful wife. Alison is trying to rebel against society, the common view of marriage, and the church.
In the prologue, the Wife of Bath shows herself as an authority in marriage, as she has been married five times. She attempts to prove herself to be experienced by using quotes from Scripture, such as her quote about Jesus only going to one wedding at Cana...
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...
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
The image of the woman in the Wife of Bath’s Prologue is depicted by Chaucer to be “barley wheat” in a town and civilization lusting for whole white wheat or virginity (Chaucer 1711). The woman has married many men and in doing so forgotten the true value of the Christian faith and now believes worldly influence can overpower the scriptures of the Bible, “can you show in plain words that Almighty God forbade us marriage? Or where did he command virginity?” (Chaucer 1709). Jackie Shead analyzes the prologue and states, “it begins by manipulating authoritative texts--a pre-emptive strike to justify the Wife's marital history and her single-minded pursuit of self-gratification” (Shead). The possibility of the Wife of B...
... The Miller portrays Alison as a "wild and young" (205) woman throughout the entire tale, making it clear that she does not respect the relationship with her husband at all. It can also suggest that she is not an angel or the “good wife” that she likes to pretend to be. It is obvious that Alison likes to use her beauty and body in ways to make it easier to obtain the things that she desire just like The Wife of Bath indirectly hints in her tale.
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.
The main character, Alison, or the wife of Bath, is representative of most of the feminist ideals in the work. She is strong, independent, and to be respected as a woman of great courage. Alison has suffered a great deal in her lifetime, indicative of life for women at this time. She has survived five husbands; some of whom beat her, others were unfaithful. She was married off at an early age of twelve and from then on knew what marriage was about: money. "Marriage is the key to survival, and that is what Alisoun seeks and finds" (Carruthers 214), argues Mary Carruthers, justifying Alison's five marriages. Alison equates money with power. With this power comes respect and honor.
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 is the tale of an independent and headstrong woman. She strongly believes in the worth of every woman and that women should be dominant in their marriages. The Wife of Bath also directly speaks against strict religious claims for chastity and monogamy, using Biblical examples. These examples include Solomon to show that the Bible does not openly condemn all expressions of sexuality, even outside of marriage.
Many have question her numerous amount of marriages saying that “Christ went only once to a wedding, in Cana of Galilee, by that same example he taught me that I should be wedded only once”(22). But the Wife of Bath wants to know how many could she have in marriage? Never have she heard a certain number to marry, and how men interrupt the bible falsely. Nor does the Wife of Bath find it important to remain a virgin. She says "He spoke this to those people who wished to be perfect; and by your leave, gentle people, I am not one of those. I will use the flower of my life in the acts and fruits of marriage” (114). She uses her sexual powers as an “instrument” to control her husbands, thus, she refuses to submit to the stereotypical ways, and she creates a new platform for a woman that makes women roles significant in the Middle Ages.
The Canterbury Tales are an accumulation of many pilgrims’ stories as they make their journey to the site of Sir Thomas a Becket’s shrine, as he was the martyred saint of Christianity. There are many stories included in The Canterbury Tales. Of these many tales, one of them is the story of the Wife of Bath, whose real name is Alisoun. From her appearance and behavior, to her political and religious views, there is much to tell about the Wife of Bath, for her prologue and tale are quite long. The Wife of Bath is a very interesting character. In addition to Alisoun as a person, her story is fascinating as well, with a surprising and compelling end to the story. (SparkNotes Editors)
When talking of the Medieval literature, one of the most outstanding works might be The Canterbury Tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer, which recorded stories told by 29 pilgrims on their way to Canterbury. Among them, the sixth story, The Wife of Bath's Tale, left the strongest impression on me. After some further study on it these days, it came to me that there are three points in this character that impressed me most: Her fashionable dressing, her sinuous marital experience and her overseas adventures.
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 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.
In the "Wife of Bath's Prologue," she tells the other pilgrims that she has much experience since she has been married five times. She believes in experience rather than in writing. We can see this in the quotation: "Who painted the leon, tel me who? By God, if wommen hadden writen stories, As clerks han within hir oratories, They wolde had writen of men more wikkednesse Than al th merk of Adam may redresse." [Norton, 132] She is very upset about the painting of a man killing a lion. Her fifth husband always reads his book about wicked wives, and he amuses himself by telling her the stories; however, she doesn't like this. She is beautiful, powerful, energetic and relies on her experience, not on any writings or paintings.
From Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, the Wife of Bath is most creatively portrayed and certainly most controversial. Alison, as she is called, is a very outspoken woman with beliefs contrary to those of her time, when a woman had little say. In her prologue, the Wife of Bath chastises those who look down on her because of her beliefs, and uses various biblical and religious references to support her opinions on chastity, sex, and marriage.