The Wife of Bath's Tale Active Reading Skillbuilder

"The Wife of Bath'south Tale" (Middle English language: The Tale of the Wyf of Bathe ) is amongst the best-known of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. It provides insight into the role of women in the Late Heart Ages and was probably of interest to Chaucer himself, for the character is 1 of his most developed ones, with her Prologue twice as long as her Tale. He also goes and so far as to describe 2 sets of clothing for her in his General Prologue. She holds her own among the bickering pilgrims, and bear witness in the manuscripts suggests that although she was first assigned a different, plainer tale—perhaps the one told past the Shipman—she received her present tale as her significance increased.^{[ citation needed ]} She calls herself both Alyson and Alys in the prologue, only to confuse matters these are also the names of her 'gossib' (a close friend or gossip), whom she mentions several times, every bit well as many female characters throughout The Canterbury Tales.

Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The 'Prologue of the Wife of Bath's Tale' during the fourteenth century at a fourth dimension when the social structure was apace evolving^[1] during the reign of Richard II; it was non until the tardily 1380s–mid-1390s when Richard'south subjects started to take notice of the way in which he was leaning toward bad counsel, causing criticism throughout his court.^[two] It was evident that changes needed to be made within the traditional bureaucracy at the court of Richard II; feminist reading of the tale argues that Chaucer chose to address through "The Prologue of the Wife of Bath's Tale" the change in mores that he had noticed, in lodge to highlight the imbalance of power within a male person-dominated society.^[three] Women were identified non by their social status and occupations, simply solely by their relations with men: a adult female was defined as either a maiden, a spouse or a widow - capable only of changeable, cooking and other "women's work".^[4]

The tale is frequently regarded every bit the offset of the and then-called "marriage group" of tales, which includes the Clerk's, the Merchant'due south and the Franklin's tales. But some scholars contest this grouping, outset proposed by Chaucer scholar Eleanor Prescott Hammond and subsequently elaborated by George Lyman Kittredge, not least because the afterwards tales of Melibee and the Nun'south Priest also talk over this theme.^[5] A separation between tales that bargain with moral issues and ones that deal with magical bug, as the Wife of Bath's does, is favoured by some scholars.^{[ citation needed ]}

The tale is an instance of the "loathly lady" motif, the oldest examples of which are the medieval Irish sovereignty myths such as that of Niall of the Ix Hostages. In the medieval poem The Wedding ceremony of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle, Arthur'southward nephew Gawain goes on a nearly identical quest to observe what women truly want later he errs in a land dispute, although, in dissimilarity, he never stooped to despoliation or plunder, unlike the unnamed knight who raped the woman. By tradition, any knight or noble found guilty of such a transgression (corruption of ability), might exist stripped of his proper noun, heraldic championship and rights, and possibly even executed.

George suggests that the Married woman's tale may accept been written to ease Chaucer'due south guilty conscience. It is recorded that in 1380 associates of Chaucer stood surety for an amount equal to half his yearly salary for a charge brought by Cecily Champaign for "de rapto", rape or abduction; the same view has been taken of his Legend of Good Women, which Chaucer himself describes as a penance.^[six]

Synopsis [edit]

Prologue [edit]

The Wife of Bath's Prologue is by far the longest in The Canterbury Tales and is twice as long as the bodily story, showing the importance of the prologue to the significance of the overall tale. In the beginning the married woman expresses her views in which she believes the morals of women are not merely that they all solely desire "sovereignty", but that each private woman should have the opportunity to make the decision. The Wife of Bath speaks against many of the typical customs of the time, and provides her assessment of the roles of women in gild.^[1]

The Wife of Bathroom particularly speaks out in defence of those who, like her, accept married multiple times. As a counterargument, she mentions many holy men who take had multiple wives:

I woot wel Abraham was an holy homo, And Iacob eek, as ferforth as I can; And ech of hem hadde wyves mo than two; And many another holy human also. Whan saugh ye ever, in whatever maner age, That hye God defended mariage By expres give-and-take? I pray you, telleth me; Or wher comanded he virginitee?

I know well that Abraham was a holy man, and Jacob too, as far every bit I know, and each of them had more than two wives, and many other holy men did too. When have you lot seen that in whatsoever time great God forbade wedlock explicitly? Tell me, I pray you, Or where did He order people to remain virgins?[7]

Through this quote, she addresses why society should not look downwards on her or whatever other woman who has midweek to multiple men throughout their life. The tale confronts the double standard and the social conventionalities in the inherent inferiority of women, and attempts to constitute a defence of secular women's sovereignty that opposes the conventions available to her.^[viii]

Tale [edit]

The Wife of Bathroom'due south tale, spoken past one who had been married over ten times, argues that women are morally identical to men who accept too had more than than one spouse.^[1] Double standards for men and women were common and deeply rooted in culture.

There was a knight in King Arthur's time who raped a fair young maiden. King Arthur issues a decree that the knight must exist brought to justice. When the knight is captured, he is condemned to death, only Queen Guinevere intercedes on his behalf and asks the King to allow her to pass judgment upon him. The Queen tells the knight that he will be spared his life if he can discover for her what it is that women near desire, and allots him a twelvemonth and a twenty-four hour period in which to roam wherever he pleases and return with an answer.

Everywhere the knight goes he explains his predicament to the women he meets and asks their stance, but "No two of those he questioned answered the same." The answers range from fame and riches to play, or clothes, or sexual pleasure, or flattery, or liberty. When at last the time comes for him to return to the Court, he nonetheless lacks the answer he so badly needs.

Outside a castle in the woods, he sees xx-four maidens dancing and singing, but when he approaches they disappear as if past magic, and all that is left is an old woman. The Knight explains the problem to the old woman, who is wise and may know the answer, and she forces him to promise to grant whatever favour she might ask of him in return. With no other options left, the Knight agrees. Arriving at the court, he gives the reply that women most desire sovereignty over their husbands, which is unanimously agreed to be true past the women of the court who, accordingly, gratis the Knight.

The old woman then explains to the court the deal she has struck with the Knight, and publicly requests his paw in spousal relationship. Although aghast, he realizes he has no other choice and eventually agrees. On their hymeneals night the old woman is upset that he is repulsed by her in bed. She reminds him that her looks can exist an asset—she will be a virtuous wife to him because no other men would desire her. She asks him which ane he would prefer—a married woman who is true and loyal or a beautiful immature woman, who may not exist faithful. The Knight responds by saying that the choice is hers. Happy that she at present has the ultimate power, he having taken to heart the lesson of sovereignty and relinquished command, rather than choosing for her, she promises him both beauty and fidelity. The Knight turns to expect at the old woman again, simply now finds a immature and lovely woman. The old adult female makes "what women want most" and the answer that she gave true to him, sovereignty.^[v]

Themes [edit]

Feminist critique [edit]

The Wife of Bath's Prologue simultaneously enumerates and critiques the long tradition of misogyny in ancient and medieval literature. As Cooper notes, the Wife of Bath's "materials are part of the vast medieval stock of antifeminism",^[9] giving St. Jerome's Adversus Jovinianum, which was "written to refute the proposition put forward by ane Jovinianus that virginity and marriage were of equal worth", as one of many examples.^[9]

The unproblematic fact that she is a widow who has remarried more than one time radically defies medieval conventions. Farther evidence of this can be found through her observation: "For hadde God commanded maydenhede, / Thanne hadde he dampned weddyng with the dede."^[10] She refutes Jerome'southward proposition apropos virginity and marriage past noting that God would accept condemned marriage and procreation if He had commanded virginity. Her conclusion to include God equally a defense for her lustful appetites is pregnant, as it shows how well-read she is. Past the same token, her interpretations of Scripture, such as Paul on marriage,^[11] are tailored to suit her ain purposes.^{[12] [ description needed ]}

While Chaucer'due south Wife of Bath is clearly familiar with the many ancient and medieval views on proper female behavior, she also boldly questions their validity. Her repeated acts of remarriage, for instance, are an example of how she mocks "clerical teaching concerning the remarriage of widows".^[13] Furthermore, she adds, "a rich widow was considered to be a friction match equal to, or more desirable than, a friction match with a virgin of property",^[13] illustrating this indicate by elaborating at length concerning her power to remarry four times, and attract a much younger man.

While she gleefully confesses to the many ways in which she falls short of conventional ideals for women, she likewise points out that it is men who constructed those ideals in the outset place.

Who painted the lion, tell me who?
By God, if women had written stories,
Every bit clerks accept within their studies,
They would take written of men more wickedness
Than all the male sex could ready correct.^[fourteen]

That does not, nonetheless, mean they are non right, and subsequently her critique she accepts their validity.^{[6] [ clarification needed ]}

Behaviour in marriage [edit]

Both Carruthers and Cooper reverberate on the fashion that Chaucer'due south Wife of Bath does non conduct as society dictates in whatsoever of her marriages. Through her nonconformity to the expectations of her role as a wife, the audience is shown what proper behaviour in marriage should exist like. Carruthers' essay outlines the existence of deportment books, the purpose of which was to teach women how to exist model wives. Carruthers notes how the Married woman'due south behaviour in the beginning of her marriages "is almost everything the deportment-book writers say it should non be."^[13] For example, she lies to her former husbands about them getting drunk and saying some regrettable things.^[15] Yet, Carruthers does notation that the Wife does exercise a decent job of upholding her husbands' public honour. Moreover, deportment books taught women that "the hubby deserves control of the wife because he controls the estate";^[xvi] it is clear that the Wife is the one who controls sure aspects of her hubby'southward behaviour in her various marriages.

Cooper also notes that behaviour in wedlock is a theme that emerges in the Wife of Bathroom'southward Prologue; neither the Married woman nor her husbands suit to whatever conventional ethics of wedlock. Cooper observes that the Married woman'south fifth married man, in item, "cannot be taken as any principle of correct Christian wedlock".^[17] He, too, fails to exhibit behaviour conventionally expected within a union. This can perhaps exist attributed to his young age and lack of feel in relationships, equally he does change at the end, as does the Wife of Bath. Thus, through both the Wife's and her 5th and favorite hubby's failure to conform to expected behaviour in wedlock, the poem exposes the complication of the institution of spousal relationship and of relationships more than broadly.

Female sovereignty [edit]

As Cooper argues, the tension between experience and textual authorisation is central to the Prologue. The Wife argues for the relevance of her own marital experience. For instance, she notes that:

Unnethe myghte they the statut holde "unnethe" = non hands
In which that they were bounden unto me. "woot" = know
Ye woot wel what I meene of this, pardee! "pardee" = "past God", cf. French "par dieu"
As help me God, I laughe whan I thynke
How pitously a-nyght I fabricated hem swynke! (III.204–08) "hem" = them; "swynke" = work

The Wife of Bath'due south kickoff three husbands are depicted as subservient men who cater to her sexual appetites. Her characterisation every bit domineering is particularly evident in the post-obit passage:

Of tribulacion in mariage,
Of which I am proficient in al myn age
This is to seyn, myself take been the whippe. (III.179–81)

The paradigm of the whip underlines her dominant office as the partnership; she tells everyone that she is the one in charge in her household, especially in the bedchamber, where she appears to have an insatiable thirst for sex; the consequence is a satirical, lascivious delineation of a adult female, but also of feudal power arrangements.

Nevertheless information technology is made axiomatic at the cease of both the Prologue and the Tale that it is non dominance that she wishes to gain, in her relation with her husband, but a kind of equality.

In the Prologue she says: "God help me so, I was to him as kinde/ Equally any wyf from Denmark unto Inde,/ And also trewe, and and so was he to me." In her Tale, the old woman tells her husband: "I prey to God that I mot sterven wood,/ Just I to yow be too good and trewe/ Every bit evere was wyf, sin that the world was newe."

In both cases, the Wife says so to the husband after she has been given "sovereyntee". She is handed over the control of all the property along with the command of her husband's natural language. The old adult female in the Wife of Bath's Tale is also given the freedom to choose which function he wishes her to play in the marriage.

Economics of love [edit]

In her essay "The Married woman of Bath and the Painting of Lions," Carruthers describes the relationship that existed between love and economics for both medieval men and women. Carruthers notes that it is the independence that the Wife's wealth provides for her that allows her to beloved freely (Carruthers 1979:216). This implies that autonomy is an of import component in genuine honey, and since autonomy can simply exist achieved through wealth, wealth then becomes the greatest component for true dearest. Love tin, in essence, be bought: Chaucer makes reference to this notion when he has the Married woman tell one of her husbands:

Is information technology for ye wolde take my queynte allone? "queynte" = a overnice affair, cf. Latin quoniam, with obvious connotation of "cunt"
Wy, taak it al! Lo, have it every deel! "deel" = "part"; plus, the implication of transaction
Peter! I shrewe yow, but ye love it weel; "Peter" = St. Peter; "shrewe" = curse; hence: "I curse you if you don't beloved it well."
For if I wolde selle my bele chose, "belle chose": another suggestion of female ballocks (her "lovely matter")
I koude walke as fressh as is a rose;
Simply I wol kepe it for youre owene tooth. (III.444–49) "tooth" = gustation, pleasance

The Wife appears to make reference to prostitution, whereby "love" in the form of sex is a "deal" bought and sold. The graphic symbol'southward use of words such every bit "dette (debt)"^[18] and "paiement (payment)"^[19] likewise portray love in economic terms, every bit did the medieval Church: sex was the debt women owed to the men that they married. Hence, while the point that Carruthers makes is that coin is necessary for women to accomplish sovereignty in wedlock, a look at the text reveals that beloved is, amongst other things, an economic concept. This is maybe best demonstrated by the fact that her fifth husband gives up wealth in return for love, honour, and respect.

One may exist forgiven for thinking that the Married woman of Bath does not accept men seriously and that she but wants them for sexual pleasure and money.^[xx] When the Wife of Bath states, "merely well I know, surely, God expressly instructed united states to increase and multiply. I can well understand that noble text"^[7] to bear fruit, not in children, but financially through marriage, state, and from inheritance when her husbands pass;^[21] Chaucer'south Married woman chose to interpret the significant of the argument by clarifying that she has no interest in childbearing as a ways of showing fruitfulness, just the progression of her fiscal stability is her ideal way of proving success.

Sexual practice and Lollardy [edit]

While sexuality is a ascendant theme in The Wife of Bath'south Prologue, it is less obvious that her sexual behaviour tin can be associated with Lollardy. Critics such as Helen Cooper and Carolyn Dinshaw point to the link between sexual activity and Lollardy. Both depict the Wife'southward knowledge and use of Scripture in her justification of her sexual behaviour. When she states that "God bad united states for to wexe and multiplye",^[22] she appears to advise that in that location is zero wrong with sexual lust, because God wants humans to procreate. The Married woman'south "emphatic determination to recuperate sexual activity within a Christian context and on the authority of the Bible [on a number of occasions throughout the text] echoes one of the points made in the Lollard Twelve Conclusions of 1395".^[23] The very fact that she remarries after the death of her first husband could be viewed as Chaucer'southward characterisation of the Married woman as a supporter of Lollardy, if not necessarily a Lollard herself, since Lollards advocated the remarriage of widows.^[24]

Femininity [edit]

In an effort to affirm women's equality with men, the Married woman of Bathroom points to the fact that an equal residue of power is necessary in a functional society.^[1] Wilks proposes that through the sovereignty theme, a reflection of women'due south integral role in governance compelled Chaucer'due south audition to associate the Wife's tale with the reign of Anne of Bohemia.^[25] By questioning universal assumptions of male person authorization, making demands in her own right, conducting negotiations inside her marriages and disregarding conventional feminine ethics, Chaucer'due south Married woman of Bath was ahead of her time.

The Queen'south Police force [edit]

Within the Wife of Bathroom'due south Tale, the medieval general roles are reversed between men and women, and moreover regarding legal ability, it suggests a theme of feminist coalition-building. The Queen is appointed as the sovereign and judge. She holds the blazon of ability that men are given in the world of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The Queen in the Married woman of Bath's Tale is given power as judge over the knight's life.^[26] Author Emma Lipton writes that the Queen uses this power to move court from a liberal 1 to an educational one.^[27] In this sense the court is moving beyond the offense beyond punishment and now puts a meaning behind the offense with the idea of consequences. In the tale, the Queen is a figurehead of the greater feminist movement within the society, much like the misogynistic world in which the Canterbury Tales takes place in.^[27] Because of this idea and feminist movement that the Queen leads in the Wife of Bath'due south Tale, women are empowered rather than objectified to demonstrate a theoretical change. The upshot of feminist coalition building can be seen through the knight. As a consequence to the knight's sexual assail against the maiden, when the old women ask the Queen to allow the knight to marry her the Queen grants it. This shows the support and the broader female community's dedication to education female values. In response to this fate the knight begs the court and the Queen to disengage his sentence by using all of his wealth and power, "Have all my appurtenances and let my body go,"^[28] to which the Queen denies information technology. The lack of the knight's bureau in this scene demonstrates, according to Carissa Harris a juxtaposition or office reversal to the lack of agency of women in situations of rape.^[29]

Film adaptations [edit]

Pasolini adapted the prologue of this tale in his motion-picture show The Canterbury Tales. Laura Betti plays the wife of Bathroom and Tom Bakery plays her fifth husband.

Theatre adaptations [edit]

Zadie Smith adapted and updated the prologue and story for the Kiln Theatre in Kilburn in 2019 equally "The Wife of Willesden", with a run of performances at the Theatre from Nov 2021 to January 2022.

Book adaptations [edit]

Karen Brookes has written a volume based on the tale: The Good Wife of Bath.

Notes [edit]

1. ^ ^{a b c d} "Jonathan Blake. Struggle For Female person Equality in "The Wife of Bath'southward Prologue and Tale"". www.luminarium.org.
2. ^ The English language "Loathly Lady"Tales: Boundaries, Traditions, Motifs. p. xiii.
3. ^ Feminist Readings in Center English Literature: the Wife of Bathroom and All Her Sect. p. 75.
4. ^ Crane, Susan (1 January 1987). "Alison's Incapacity and Poetic Instability in the Wife of Bath's Tale". PMLA. 102 (1): 22. doi:ten.2307/462489. JSTOR 462489.
5. ^ ^{a b} On Hammond'southward coining of this term, see Scala, Elizabeth (2009). "The Women in Chaucer's 'Marriage Group'". Medieval Feminist Forum. 45 (1): fifty–56. doi:10.17077/1536-8742.1766. Scala cites Hammond, p. 256, in support, and points out that Kittredge himself, in his essay'south first footnote, confesses that "The Marriage Group of the 'Canterbury Tales' has been much studied, and with proficient results" (Scala, p. 54).
6. ^ ^{a b} George, Jodi-Anne, Columbia Disquisitional Guides: Geoffrey Chaucer, the Full general Prologue to the Canterbury Tales (NY: Columbia University Printing, 2000), p. 149.
7. ^ ^{a b} The Wife of Bath's Tale. p. 28.
8. ^ Crane, Susan (1 January 1987). "Alison's Incapacity and Poetic Instability in the Wife of Bath's Tale". PMLA. 102 (1): twenty–28. doi:x.2307/462489. JSTOR 462489.
9. ^ ^{a b} Cooper 1996: 141.
10. ^ III 69–70.
11. ^ Three. 158–61.
12. ^ Cooper 1996: 144.
13. ^ ^{a b c} Carruthers 1979: 213.
14. ^ Benson, Larry D. The Riverside Chaucer. Houghton Miflin Company. 1987. 692-96.
15. ^ III.380–82.
16. ^ Carruthers 1979:214)
17. ^ Cooper 1996:149.
18. ^ III.130.
19. ^ 3.131.
20. ^ The English "Loathly Lady" Tales: Boundaries, Traditions, Motifs. p. 92.
21. ^ Feminist Readings in Middle English Literature: the Wife of Bath and All Her Sect. p. 71.
22. ^ III.28.
23. ^ Cooper 1996:150.
24. ^ Cooper 1996:150; Dinshaw 1999:129.
25. ^ The English "Loathly Lady" Tales: Boundaries, Traditions, Motifs. p. 73.
26. ^ "three.i The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale". Harvard's Geoffrey Chaucer Website. lines 895-898. Retrieved xiv Dec 2021. {{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-condition (link)
27. ^ ^{a b} Lipton, Emma (2019). "Contracts, Activist Feminism, and the Wife of Bath's Tale". The Chaucer Review. 54 (3): 335–351. doi:ten.5325/chaucerrev.54.iii.0335. ISSN 0009-2002.
28. ^ "3.1 The Wife of Bathroom's Prologue and Tale". Harvard'southward Geoffrey Chaucer Website. line 1061. {{cite spider web}}: CS1 maint: url-condition (link)
29. ^ Harris, Carissa (2017). "Rape and Justice in the Wife of Bath'due south Tale". The Open Access Companion to the Canterbury Tales.

See likewise [edit]

• Blaesilla, on whom the tale is partly based.
• Bacon in the fabliaux — a figurative use of bacon echoed by Chaucer

References [edit]

• Blake, Jonathan. "Struggle For Female person Equality in 'The Wife of Bath'southward Prologue and Tale.'" Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature, 25 September 1994, world wide web.luminarium.org/medlit/jblake.htm. Accessed 23 February 2017.
• Brother Anthony. "Chaucer and Religion." Chaucer and Religion, Sogang University, Seoul, hompi.sogang.ac.kr/anthony/Religion.htm. Accessed 22 February 2017.
• Carruthers, Mary (March 1979). "The Wife of Bath and the Painting of Lions". PMLA. 94 (2): 209–22. doi:10.2307/461886. JSTOR 461886.
• Carter, Susan (2003). "Coupling the Beastly Helpmate and the Hunter Hunted: What Lies Behind Chaucer's Married woman of Bath'due south Tale". The Chaucer Review. 37 (4): 329–45. doi:10.1353/cr.2003.0010. JSTOR 25096219.
• Chaucer, Geoffrey (1987). "The Married woman of Bathroom's Prologue". The Riverside Chaucer (3rd ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 105–16. ISBN978-0395290316.
• Cooper, Helen (1996). "The Wife of Bath'southward Prologue". Oxford Guides to Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales. New York: Oxford Academy Press. ISBN978-0198711551.
• Crane, Susan. "Alyson'south Incapacity and Poetic Instability in the Wife of Bath's Tale." PMLA, vol. 102, no. 1, 1987, pp. 20–28., www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/462489.pdf. Accessed 22 February 2017.
• Dinshaw, Carolyn (1999). "Good Vibrations: John/Eleanor, Dame Alys, the Pardoner, and Foucault". Getting Medieval: Sexualities and Communities, Pre- and Postmodern. Durham: Duke Academy Printing. ISBN978-0822323655.
• Evans, Ruth. "Sexual Economics, Chaucer's Married woman of Bathroom." Feminist Readings in Middle English Literature: the Wife of Bathroom and All Her Sect. Ed. Lesley Johnson and Sheila Delany. Routledge, 2004. 71–85.
• Getty, et al. "The Married woman of Bath's Tale." Globe Literature I: Beginnings to 1650, vol. 2, University of North Georgia Press, Dahlonega, GA, pp. 28–37.
• Green, Richard Firth (2007). ""Allas, Allas! That Evere Dearest Was Synne!": John Bromyard v. Alice of Bath". The Chaucer Review. 42 (iii): 298–311. doi:10.1353/cr.2008.0005. JSTOR 25094403.
• Hammond, Eleanor Prescott (1908). Chaucer: A Bibliographic Manual. New York: Macmillan.
• Kittredge, George Lyman (Apr 1912). "Chaucer'due south Discussion of Spousal relationship". Modernistic Philology. 9 (iv): 435–67. doi:x.1086/386872. JSTOR 432643.
• Passmore, Elizabeth S., and Susan Carter. The English "Loathly Lady" Tales: Boundaries, Traditions, Motifs. Medieval Plant Publications, 2007.
• Rigby, S. H. (Stephen Henry) (2000). "The Wife of Bath, Christine de Pizan, and the Medieval Case for Women". The Chaucer Review. 35 (2): 133–65. doi:ten.1353/cr.2000.0024. JSTOR 25096124.

External links [edit]

• Read "The Married woman of Bathroom'due south Prologue and Tale" with interlinear translation
• Mod Translation of the Wife of Bath'due south Tale and Other Resource at eChaucer
• "The Married woman of Bathroom's Tale" – a plain-English retelling for non-scholars.

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wife_of_Bath%27s_Tale

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