How does Chaucer describe the physical appearance of the wife of Bath?
Chaucer states directly and implies his thoughts in the prologue relating to The Wife of Bath's physical appearance, her qualities, traits and other background information. Chaucer portrays the Wife of Bath as a deviant and rather ugly woman. The physical appearance of the Wife of Bath described by Chaucer is "she had gap-teeth, set widely."
What is the story of the wife of Bath?
The tale the Wife of Bath tells about the transformation of an old hag into a beautiful maid was quite well known in folk legend and poetry. One of Chaucer’s contemporaries, the poet John Gower, wrote a version of the same tale that was very popular in Chaucer’s time.
Who is the wife of Bath in the Canterbury Tales?
The 'Wife of Bath's Tale' and 'Prologue' is one of the most popular stories in The Canterbury Tales. The Wife of Bath is a feminist, liberated woman who does not hold traditional views of male and female relations during medieval times.
What does Chaucer imply about love and heartbreak?
Chaucer also implies that she knew about love and heartbreak possibly another reason for her having so many men in her life, "And knew the remedies for love's mischances, an art in... "Chaucer's Opinion of The Wife of Bath". (2002, November 20).
How does Chaucer satirize the Wife of Bath?
Chaucer uses irony and satire to challenge the church's oppression of women by allowing the Wife of Bath to speak freely about sex, marriage and women's desires. Chaucer develops her character, gap-toothed, earthy old hag, who is honest, witty and funny.
What does the Wife of Bath represent in the Canterbury Tales?
Critics such as Carolyn Dinshaw in her book Chaucer's Sexual Poetics have argued that the Wife of Bath represents feminist values in that she challenges patriarchy and gives voice to female desire.
What is your opinion on the Wife of Bath?
Three of the Wife of Bath's most notable opinions expressed in her tale are that women desire dominance, or power, over men; that men perceive women as hags when women have independence of thought and exert their opinions; and that the way to relieve the perception of women as hags is to give women autonomy of decision ...
What is the main point of the Wife of Bath's tale?
The Wife of Bath's main point in telling this story is that men should listen to their wives and allow them to have control. Even from the beginning of the story, the women of the court take control of the situation in allowing the knight one last chance to save his life.
How is the Wife of Bath presented as a storyteller?
The Wife is narrating her own experience, a fact she makes clear right at the start of her Prologue. As a narrator, the Wife seems candid and honest, freely admitting things a more inhibited person would hide, like her intention of engaging in sex as frequently as possible.
Is the Wife of Bath anti feminist?
Some scholars claim the Wife of Bath perpetuates negative portrayals of women instead of dismantling them; thus, they say, she is an anti-feminist figure. But it's also true that her particular brand of colorful humor closely aligns with the modern concept of ironic anti-feminism.
What does the Wife of Bath value?
"The Wife of Bath's Tale" shows her values -- that as long as she has sovereignty over her sixth husband they will live happily, making love every day (since it is hard to imagine that the Wife of Bath would want a man for anything besides that).
What is the moral of the Wife of Bath's tale quizlet?
The Wife of Bath suggests the existence of fairies when she frames the tale. What is the moral of "The Wife of Bath's Tale"? It is best for husbands and wives when women rule the marriage.
What does the wife of Bath believe?
In telling not only about her experience, but the experience of the knight as well, the Wife of Bath solidifies her beliefs that women should be in control of men's lives. The 'Wife of Bath's Tale' and 'Prologue' is one of the most popular stories in The Canterbury Tales.
Why is the wife of Bath so popular?
The primary reasons for her popularity is her expression of her feelings regarding marriage and the expectations of women during medieval times. The Wife of Bath and several other characters are on a pilgrimage to Canterbury ...
Why does the wife of Bath believe in more than one marriage?
The Wife of Bath shares her knowledge of the Bible in the prologue and details reasons why she believes the Bible encourages more than one marriage. She expresses reasons why it is important for women to remarry, such as childbirth. She believes that sexuality should be used for pleasure and procreation.
How many husbands did the wife of Bath have?
The Wife of Bath entered into relationships with men, young and old, easily and based on her attraction to them. She had five husbands and desires a sixth one. She admits to nagging her first three elderly rich husbands but also satisfying them sexually.
What did the wife of Bath believe about her fifth husband?
Jankyn held traditional medieval views of women and read about his views from the Bible aloud, which upset the Wife of Bath. In her frustration she hit Jankyn, ripped pages from his book, and he fell over into a fire. In retaliation, he hit her back, and she pretended to be dead until she gained sympathy from him, and he promised her anything if she would live. The Wife of Bath saw this as a victory over her fifth husband, and she remained a faithful wife to him until his death. These experiences taught the Wife of Bath that a marriage is happiest when a wife has control.
Why did King Arthur give the knight a year to study women?
After a knight in King Arthur's court rapes a young maiden, the queen and ladies of the court decide to give the knight one year to study women and learn about a woman's greatest desire in order to avoid a beheading , which was the usual punishment for such behavior.
Why does the wife of bath use her prologue?
She uses her prologue to explain her beliefs and the story she discusses in the 'Wife of Bath's Tale. 'The Wife of Bath feels she is an expert on relations between men and women because of her experience with five husbands.
What is the meaning of Chaucer's wife of Bath's Tale?
Furthermore, I mention how Chaucer’s Wife of Bath’s “Tale” and “Prologue” is the embodiment of the feminist struggle, or at least the struggle Chaucer was aware of. Throughout the Tales, Chaucer is constantly toying with the concept of authorial intent. Chaucer is subversive about his intent.
What was Chaucer's feminist thought?
Feminist Thought of Geoffrey Chaucer: The Wife of Bath, and “All Hire Secte”. The political climate of the Middle Ages was atrocious for women. Not only did society and the Holy Church of England view women as property for men, but the government did as well.
What is the symbolic act of Alyson and Chaucer?
Here, Alyson and Chaucer have subversively used Christ’s teachings against the Church itself. In the climax of the Wife’s prologue, Alyson commits a very symbolic act. Alyson, tired of listening to Jenkyn’s recitations and studying of anti-feminist texts, reacts angrily toward him in a very symbolic way.
What does Alyson say about Jerome?
Alyson makes a direct reference to Jerome’s thoughts on “barley” in her prologue. She says, “And lat us wyves hoten barly-breed /And yet with barly-breed, Mark telle kan, / Oure Lord Jhesu refresshed many a man.” [12] Here, Alyson “quites” Jerome by admiring barley. She says that Christ was known to give out barley bread in charity. This is ironic because Jerome, a pillar of the Church, is supposed to honor Christ. Instead, he says that the very bread that Jesus distributed was worse that cow dung. Here, Alyson and Chaucer have subversively used Christ’s teachings against the Church itself.
What is Chaucer's realism?
Chaucer bases his Tales on realism. He creates his characters based on his generalized perception of their real-life counterparts. For example, Chaucer was a court poet and based his own Knight on the high class knights such as John of Gaunt, whom he was a patron of.
What is Chaucer's intent in the Canterbury Tales?
Chaucer’s intent lies in the interaction between the characters and their representative social classes. This is interesting because the class that Alyson belongs to is somewhat different from that of the other pilgrims.
Where did Chaucer set the characters?
Chaucer set these characters on a pilgrimage from London to Canterbury to the shrine of Saint Thomas Beckett. In the beginning of the journey, Harry Bailly, the local innkeeper and the host of the pilgrimage, decides to host a contest.
What is the character of the wife of Bath?
Next. The Reeve. The Wife of Bath comes from the town of Bath, which is on the Avon River. She is a seamstress by trade but a professional wife by occupation: she has been married five times and presents herself as the world’s expert in matters of marriage and the relations between men ...
What good is the wife of bath?
What good is it... (full context) The Wife of Bath boasts that through her sexual and verbal powers, she kept control over her five husbands. ... (full context) Women, says the Wife of Bath , are born with the tricks of deceiving, weeping, and spying.
What does the wife of bath tell about her fourth husband?
The Wife of Bath tells about her fourth husband, who took a mistress. Back in those days, the Wife... (full context) Out of frustration, the Wife of Bath tears three leaves out of the book and punches Jankyn in the face. Jankyn retaliates... (full context)
Why is the wife of Bath upset?
The Wife of Bath is upset to learn about Jankyn’s book of wicked wives that he spends his time... (full context) Out of frustration, the Wife of Bath tears three leaves out of the book and punches Jankyn in the face.
What is the meaning of "the wife of bath"?
...to be able to deceive and keep secrets. As proof of this last point, the Wife of Bath tells Ovid’s story of King Midas, whose ears were turned into ass’s ears.
How many husbands did the wife of Bath have?
Of her five husbands, the Wife of Bath says, three were good and two were bad. The first three were good because they... (full context)
Why does the wife of bath say she is an authority on marriage?
The Wife of Bath announces that she is an authority on marriage because of her experience, having had five... (full context) The Wife of Bath challenges anyone to prove that God commanded virginity: though it is great for some people,... (full context) The Pardoner interrupts, worried because he is about to be married.
What is the role of the wife of bath?
The Wife of Bath’s role in Medieval society is that she represents a woman who is not defined by the social boundaries of her time. Throughout the Middle Ages, most women “were expected to conform to certain standards of behavior, and particularly, when married, to perform certain [household] tasks (Rossignol, “The Wife of Bath” par. 2). The Wife of Bath, however, does not adhere to these standards. Instead of cooking, cleaning, and rearing children, the Wife of Bath focuses on her “prodigious sexual appetite” (par. 2). The Wife of Bath has had five marriages, becoming a bride for the first time at the age of twelve. Chaucer writes, “She’d had five husbands, all at the church door” (GP 15). Despite the number of the marriages, the Wife of Bath has never had children. Children would have interfered with her future relationships and “the fact that the new husband would be expected to support any minor children, would have made her a less attractive commodity in the marriage market” (Rossignol, “The Wife of Bath” par. 2). Further emphasizing the Wife of Bath’s independent spirit is the fact that she travels alone on her pilgrimage. While the other pilgrims are traveling for religious reasons, she is seeking a sixth husband, again demonstrating her nonconformist personality. Despite her controversial nature, however, Chaucer ultimately creates a character who is a “positive representation of independent womanhood”. The Wife of Bath’s positive image is echoed in her Prologue and Tale.
What is the wife of Bath's physical appearance?
Chaucer also notes that “She had gap-teeth, set widely [apart]…”, and very large hips. The Wife of Bath’s distinct physical appearance distinguishes her from the appearances of most traditional women of her time. Her defined features make her sexually attractive and “Her sanguine complexion … indicates a good-natured gregariousness” (Rossignol, “The Wife of Bath” par. 3). In the General Prologue, Chaucer also reveals the Wife of Bath is “somewhat deaf”. This impairment does not curb her overly social nature, however, as Chaucer paints her to be an independent, self-assured woman whose boldness is reflected in her Prologue and her Tale.
What does the wife of bath wear?
Chaucer describes the Wife of Bath wearing a finely woven kerchief, soft shoes, a flowing mantle, and a wimple to conceal her aging. In addition, she wears hose of the “finest scarlet red” (15). This bold color is a reflection of her passionate, and even lustful, nature. Michelle M. Sauer says, “The Wife is bold, outspoken, forthright, and, above all, passionate” (par. 15). Chaucer also uses this color to represent her power and confidence, which distinguish her from the other women of her time. The Wife of Bath clearly has an adventurous spirit as she is well-traveled and “skilled in wandering” (Chaucer, GP 15). She travels alone, venturing to places such as Jerusalem and Rome. She is also a skilled cloth maker, she likes to laugh and talk, and she knows “all the remedies for love’s mischances”.
How many marriages did the wife of Bath have?
Central to the Wife of Bath’s Prologue is her description and justification of her five marriages. The Wife of Bath explains her marriages saying, “Three of them were good and two were bad. / The three that I call “good” were rich and old (Chaucer 263). She considers her first three husbands “good” because she can easily control them and will one day inherit their fortunes (Ruud par. 4). The Wife of Bath’s fourth husband was not as easily controlled, as he was unfaithful and had a mistress. While married to him, she fell in love with Jankyn, who would become her fifth husband, one whom she married for love but who was abusive. In detailing these five marriages to the other travelers in her Prologue, the Wife of Bath asserts herself to be the ultimate authority on marriage.
What is the meaning of the Canterbury Tales?
Geoffrey Chaucer’s poem, The Canterbury Tales, satirically chronicles thirty pilgrims and their journey to Saint Thomas Becket’s shrine in Canterbury, England. Throughout the poem, Chaucer creatively utilizes the literary technique of a frame narrative, which is essentially stories within a story. The outer frame consists of the pilgrimage to Saint Thomas Becket’s shrine, where each pilgrim, including Chaucer the Pilgrim, exhibits a cross-section of fourteenth century England, omitting only royalty and serfs. Before embarking on their pilgrimage, the pilgrims meet at the Tabard Inn in Southwark, directly outside London. At the Inn, the Host, Harry Bailly, proposes the idea of a tale-telling contest. Bailly suggests each pilgrim tells two tales in each direction of their trip to prevent boredom. The teller of the most entertaining and moral tale wins a meal courtesy of the “losers” at the journey’s end at the Tabard Inn. Chaucer incorporates the telling of each of the tales by creating an inner frame within the poem. While he intends one hundred twenty tales, Chaucer dies in 1400 A.D., leaving only twenty-four tales, two of which are fragments, remaining. In telling the twenty-four tales within a more sizable tale, Chaucer demonstrates an uncanny ability to match the tale to the teller. One particular tale, the Wife of Bath’s, is perhaps the best example of Chaucer’s cleverness as a writer as he creates a unique character, whose Tale reflects her independent and controlling personality.
Why is the wife of Bath gone?
Now, those creatures are gone because their spots have been taken by the friars and other mendicants that seem to fill every nook and cranny of the isle. And though the friars rape women, just as ...
What does the story "The Wife of Bath" mean?
The tale the Wife of Bath tells about the transformation of an old hag into a beautiful maid was quite well known in folk legend and poetry. One of Chaucer’s contemporaries, the poet John Gower, wrote a version of the same tale that was very popular in Chaucer’s time.
What does the old hag represent?
The old hag might be intended to represent the Wife of Bath herself, at least as she would like others to see her. Though the hag has aged, she is capable of displaying all of the vigor and inner beauty of her youth if the right man comes along, just as the Wife did with her fifth and favorite husband, the youthful Jankyn. Although the old hag becomes a beautiful young woman in response to the young knight’s well-timed response, it is unclear whether he truly had enough respect for the old woman that he allowed her to choose for herself, or whether he had simply learned how to supply her with the correct answer.
What does the knight tell the queen?
The knight and the old woman travel together to the court, where, in front of a large audience, the knight tells the queen the answer with which the old woman supplied him: what women most desire is to be in charge of their husbands and lovers. The women agree resoundingly that this is the answer, and the queen spares the knight’s life.
What does the woman tell the knight in the book of The Knight?
The woman tells the knight that he must pledge himself to her in return for her help, and the knight, having no options left, gladly consents. She then guarantees that his life will be saved.
What does the Queen ask Arthur to do?
However, Arthur’s queen and other ladies of the court intercede on his behalf and ask the king to give him one chance to save his own life. Arthur, wisely obedient to wifely counsel, grants their request. The queen presents the knight with the following challenge: if, within one year, he can discover what women want most in the world and report his findings back to the court, he will keep his life. If he cannot find the answer to the queen’s question, or if his answer is wrong, he will lose his head.
Why does the knight give the woman what she most desired, the authority to choose for herself?
Because the knight’s answer gave the woman what she most desired, the authority to choose for herself, she becomes both beautiful and good. The two have a long, happy marriage, and the woman becomes completely obedient to her husband.
