The Wife Of Bath?s Prologue Essay, Research Paper
The Canterbury Tales, begun in 1387 by Geoffrey
Chaucer, are written in heroic couplets iambic pentameters, and consist of a
series of twenty-four linked tales told by a group of superbly characterised
pilgrims ranging from Knight to Plowman. The characters meet at an Inn, in
London, before journeying to the shrine of St Thomas a Becket at Canterbury.
The Wife of Bath is one of these characters. She bases her both her tale and
her prologue on marriage and brings humour and intrigue to the tales, as she is
lively and very often crudely spoken. Her role as a dominant female contrasts
greatly with the others in the tales, like the prim and proper Prioress
represents the argument for virginity, whereas the Wife upholds the state of
marriage. Women were very much perceived as second class
citizens in the Fourteenth Century, they were rarely educated and had little
status in society. In contrast, the two female characters in the book are from
areas of society where it was possible for women to have influence probably as
these characters would hold more interest for his readership. The prioress was
undoubtedly the most powerful person in the nunnery and the Wife?s position as
a weaver would gain her respect and power although it is implied that she
achieves this through other means. Through the Wife Chaucer shows how women
achieved authority through marriage, using humour typical of modern
mother-in-law comedy. His tongue in cheek approach shows how the Wife controls
her husbands, by terrorising them so that each were ?ful glad? when she ?spake
to hem faire?. The reason for the Wife?s cruel treatment after marriage was
that she no longer needed ?to winne hir love, or doon hem reverence? proving
her motives for marriage to be purely material and showing Chaucer?s opinion
that some men get misled and tricked into marriage. The wife is also able to
dominate her husbands by other methods, which she often recommends to other
?wys wyfs?. Here Chaucer is obviously appealing to his audience as there are no
other wives on the pilgrimage but also the Wife may be suggesting that is not
only her who acts in this manner therefore condoning it. She firstly accuses
them of indecent behaviour thus covering her own faults and then reverts back
to nagging. Her ability to nag and argue is complemented by her knowledge of
many parables, fables and even astrology and she uses this to get the upper
hand on her husbands but is defeated by Jankin as a scholar at Oxford which
demonstrates the repression of women through lack of education. Wealth and property feature heavily in the wife?s
portrayal of marriage and along with the issue of her independence is
responsible for many of her marital conflicts. The first three husbands ?riche
and olde? were married each for ?hir land and hir tresoor? then discarded as
the Wife looks for other prospects. When one of these husbands tries to
restrict the Wife?s spending she refuses to let him be both ?maister of my body
and of my good? so refuses sexual favours in return for her freedom as she will
not become a mere possession. She generalises that women ?love no man that
taketh or keepth charge? suggesting an element of independence and
individualism in 14th century marriage.? The wife resents being controlled, she drinks ?sweete wyn? and
wears ?clothing with precious array? despite objections from her husbands which
is why the character of the Wife of Bath is sometimes thought to be the first
feminist in recorded literature. She likes to have men in her ?thrall?. One of the main features in the Wife?s prologue is
the theme of sex, appearing frequently in euphemisms such as ?chambre of Venus?
and as a general theme. Her appetite for ?meat? is seemingly insatiable and
creates the impression that she is predatory. Her brash character is also
complemented by her use of coarse language such as ?queynte? and ability to
talk unashamedly about more taboo subjects
instruments? shows an openness in society especially among women. Yet the Wife
does not only talk about sex, she uses it to control men, by refusing them
sexual favours and threatening to sell her ?bele chose? forcing each to
appreciate what they have. Her sexual boastfulness appears as an advertisement
to the pilgrims, which puts her motives for the pilgrimage into questionThe Wife respects virginity with the popular opinion
at the time but uses homely tales to show that not all people were cut out to
be virgins. She also suggests that sexual organs were not only made to ?purge
urine? or comically ?to knowe a femele from a male? but also for procreation
which was necessary due to the decrease in population that resulted from the
plague. Her argument towards sex presumably comes from past challenges towards
her promiscuous nature and despite flaws, which Chaucer adds to bring realism,
she concludes that sex within marriage is acceptable and in wife hood she will
use her ?instrument as frely as the Makere hath it sent?. She tries to
establish married women to be as important as virgins for, she argues, where
would the next generation of virgins come from? Ultimately the wife defends
women, who seem to be faced with unrealistic ideals of perfection, in the forms
of virginity and abstinence dictated by scholars and the church. Age is also an element in the wife of Bath?s marital
affairs. It appears that she cherishes youthful virtues, as she recalls the
joys of her youth and says that age, has ?biraft beautee and pith? although she
may just be looking for compliments. It becomes clear that she needs to be more
in demand than her husband is to have the upper hand. In her marriages to the
younger husbands it becomes apparent that this is harder as she is more in
their thrall, but despite this the worldly wife manages to change roles ?in his
owene grece I made him frie?. Her attraction to younger men seems to spring
from her dislike for ?olde meat? but it is only after she is endowed with the
wealth of her first three marriages that she can afford to marry for sexual
pleasures showing the wife?s priories.? Deceit is embedded within the wife?s relationships
as it is heavily entwined with her methods of domination. The wife believes
?Swere and lyen, as a woman kan?, deceit and trickery are skills all women
should use to keep men under control. She demonstrates this by referring to a
well know story of the time, as is often Chaucer?s style, where a wife
convinces her husband that the chough is mad when it tells of a lover?s visit.
It is debatable whether the wife is actually unfaithful but it is heavily
implied illustrating a complete lack of trust and fidelity. The gossiping
nature of the wife may have something to do with this and also shows that
marriage is not a private, intimate matter as she discloses even embarrassing
incidents like when her husband ?pissed on a wal?. Along with domestic violence
there seems to be little affection apart from when it is used to manipulate and
no love for which the wife only yearns from husband number five because it is
hard to obtain. The principles of the Church are distorted and contradicted as
she even disrespects the pope and there is no mention of family, or children a
matter important in the modern day church. The aspects of marriage portrayed in the Wife of
Bath?s prologue feature heavily around sexual pleasure and wealth. Her
description shows the struggle for power causes conflict, occasional violence and
abuse, all the while she is justifying her lifestyle and fighting for female
equality. Despite no fidelity, love, or trust as deceit and affairs that seem
to be commonplace the Wife of Bath ?s description of married life is very much a
comical one, which she does seem to enjoy especially if she achieves fulfilment.
Altogether Chaucer?s portrait of 14th Century married life is at
best a humorous battleground for independence, wealth and pleasures of the flesh.