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The Wife of Baths Tale features a character that seemed to resemble a feminist. But in Chaucer's time, feminism was thought to be abnormal and the pilgrims reacted negatively towards her for it, but The Wife of Bath had no qualms about displaying herself as she really was. She was not ashamed of the fact she had been married five times, and was about to marry again. She hid nothing. The prologue of this tale showed that the pilgrim did not revere the Wife of Bath as an upstanding woman, nor did she desire to be seen as one. Almost as soon as she began speaking in the prologue, she explained that she had gone through five husbands, and she was on the look out for a sixth.
She also conceded that she married for money: "Ill tell the truth. Those husbands I had, three of them were good and two of them bad. The three I call good were rich and old. They could indeed with difficulty hold the articles that bound them all to me; (No doubt my smile) " (Bath 263). She even went to the point of saying that she didnt value her husbands love.
Then again, why should she? She received what she wanted money, control, and anything that she desired, they provided. The Wife of Bath attested that all women needed to be the controlling factors in marriage. That is how she believed she would gain their husbands money. She claimed that if women cant marry for money, they must marry for sex, for those are the only two things that really matter.
Women must have control of their husbands, according to the Wife, and she is proud of the fact that she governed her husbands. If she had to put them in their place, she would make her husbands feel guilty, even if they had nothing to feel guilty for. The Wife boasted of her bogus accusations, showing how she got the better of her husbands by taking the offensive. She prided herself on having the skill of vigor and complaining to gain mastery over her husbands. She would even trade sexual favors for gifts from them.
She would conclude this by satisfying her husband's desire: love Yet he felt flattered in his heart because, he thought it showed how fond of him I was. (Bath 267). It was all a game to her. How much of a dichotomy was it that the Wife was not even beautiful? "'... I was forty then, to tell the truth. But still I always had a coltish tooth.
Yes I'm gap tooth, it suits me well... (Bath 274) '" The Wife when describing herself says she was old and ugly. Her bright clothes and detailed "cover chiefs" are pretentious rather than graceful. Her hat is as broad as a small shield. Her clothes are of good quality "fine scarlet reed" and her shoes are "moist and new. " The effect is perhaps to advertise herself and her wealth. The Wife of Bath also made it known that she was not solo on this philosophy. She also believed that women, if they know whats good for them, could lie twice as well as men can and that all women basically behave the way she does.
She was not only physically ugly, but she did not treat her husbands with respect or dignity either. She would beat her husbands, if she felt the need arise. If she in turn would get beaten, she would gain some love for her husbands. In fact her fifth husband, Johnny, routinely beat her, and she loved and respected him most of all, He struck me, still can ache, along my row of ribs butI think I loved him best, Ill tell no lie. (Bath 272). If that wasnt enough, the Wife also claimed that women take advantage of their husbands and victimize them.
And that it is better to marry an ugly women rather than a beautiful one, because if she has a pretty face, old traitor, you say shes game for any fornicator. (Bath 265). In conclusion, the wife wanted what every woman wants in a relationship; POWER. The Wife of Bath came across as a very erroneous woman. So how would she fair in todays society?
There are plenty of women out there who marry for money. Some of them like to publicize it, while others do not. There is one caveat that would make The Wife of Bath not as successful today the law. Most men who do come from money, or have earned their own wealth, watch it closely.
There are protectors out there, and contracts such as a pre-nuptial agreement. But The Wife played it well as she would wait until the husband would die. In that case, she would gain his wealth. But in my opinion, I have a hard time thinking that a man would stick around with an ugly hag that liked to beat him and never revered his love. She desired few simple pleasures in life.
She mirrored images of herself, through the tale, which in some way reflected the person whom she portrayed in the Tale. The Wife of Bath desired a certain life being more powerful than her man, her spouse, and her lover, whichever he may be. In a relationship, she wished to be the dominant of the two. She was in control and decided all of the matters in the relationship. She wanted to be given from her partner, the power to make the decisions and the choices and not have it taken away from her.
The Wife of Bath felt that all women act the way she acted, and if they did not, then they should. The Wife of Bath did not hide her evil ways behind a face of wholesomeness; whereas she just let it all hang out. It seemed that she wanted all women to behave in the same manner as she. She had no qualms about displaying herself as she really was. She was not ashamed of the fact she was married five timespan about to marry again. She hid nothing.
so it must be that true power is what women want the most At the end of the Tale, she said herself, And I pray Jesus to cut short the lives of those who " ll not be governed by their wives.
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Research essay sample on Feminist Character In Chaucer Wife Of Bath Tale
