The Wife of Bath and The Legend of Good Women by Chaucer

566 Words2 Pages

The idea of marriage through time has always been viewed as a man and women sharing a special bond. The vows that so many take for a happy marriage, to be obedient, loving and faithful has kept the toughest of marriages together. An example that would not follow these views is the Wife of Bath.
The Wife of Bath is not your ordinary housewife. She was a deceitful, loud, impetuous lady. What man would want these qualities as a wife? She had three good marriages and two bad marriages. The three that were good were old and rich, so she had absolute power over them, but the two that were bad were young; thus, they had the upper hand in the relationship. For instance, she said she married fourth husband for love and not for his wealth, showing that he had the upper hand in the marriage. Allison, the Wife of Bath believed that you shouldn’t have to be married just once, as has Abraham, Jacob, and Solomon had.
During this time period the Wife of Bath and your traditional medieval wife were extremely different. A Medieval wife was to be married, care for the children and manage the househ...

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