The Wife of Bath’s Tale

General Prologue Description of the Wife of Bath Bath is an English town on the Avon River Seamstress Expert on marriage Married 5 times Loves marriage and being physical Indirect characterization: Takes pleasure in rich attire, talking, and arguing Deaf in one ear Gap between her front teeth (This was considered attractive in Chaucer’s time) She has traveled on pilgrimages to Jerusalem three times and elsewhere in Europe as well

Prologue to the Wife of Bath’s Tale Married 5 times since 12 years old Her justification is that God never said don’t marry or sleep with different guys Pardoner interrupts. He doesn’t want to get married and have a wife control him. The friar complains about the Wife of Bath’s long introduction The summoner criticizes him for interrupting, so the friar decides he will tell his tale about summoners, and the summoner will do the same

5 Husbands Described 3 husbands were good; 2 were bad First 3 good ones were old and rich. They bought her nice things, but she wasn’t intimately attracted to them. They were joyful when she said one nice thing, because she usually harassed and lied to them. 4th husband Partier He cheated on her, so she flirted to torture him He died after her pilgrimage to Jerusalem Janekyn Clerk of Oxenford She married him one month after #4 died Notices his legs at #4’s funeral He was 20; She was 40 He made her go deaf in one ear after he hit her in the head She loved him most because he didn’t show his love He restricted everything she did

The Wife of Bath’s Tale Genres Medieval Romance- A tale of adventure in which knights, kings, and noble ladies, acting under the impulse of love, religious faith, or the mere desire for adventure, are the chief figures. Arthurian Romance- Arthur, knights, and the court are main characters Exemplum- A story that is told to illustrate a lesson or a moral