The Wife of Bath’s Tale

Quick Discussion Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: a promise should never be broken?  Explain. What is more important faithfulness or beauty?  You have to pick one, explain your choice. How far would you go to save your life? Do the wealthy live above the law? Explain. Does the class a person comes from make a difference in their character?  Explain. What is the most important factor in a happy marriage?

What do women want… most?

Frame Narrative/ Envelope structure The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer: 29 pilgrims on their way to… Each Tale occurs within The Canterbury Tales “The Pardoner’s Tale” “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” Tale within “Wife of Bath’s Tale”

Setting Thomas Becket Murdered: 1170 Time and Place of the Story The Canterbury Tales Spring time; Sometime after the Murder—some say as early as between 1171-1173; some say much later 1381 Time and Place of the Tale “The Wife of Bath” During the reign of legend King Arthur Long before 1170

Wife of Bath An early Feminist Church’s anti-feminine tendencies Conflict b/t bookish male “auctoritee” (authority) and female “experience” Knowledge of books Knowledge of the world

Overview In Part 1, the Wife defends marriage (as opposed to virginity) In Part 2, the Wife describes her married life In Part 3, the Wife describes her final husband Jankyn and their arguments over the “Book of Wicked Wives” In the Tale itself, the Wife tells us of a rapist knight who must answer a riddle to save his life: What is it that women most desire?

Geoffrey Chaucer’s CT: The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale Dame Alice's justification of her attitudes toward sex and marriage (Lines 1-198) Lines 26-50 “God bade us to increase and multiply” Lines 65-78 “A woman may be counseled to be pure, but counsel and commandment aren’t the same.” Lines 111-134 [Speaking of reproductive organs] “I mean to say that they were made for both-- That is, both for relief and for our ease To procreate, so God we not displease.” Lines 145-156 “And in the flesh his troubles will be grave As long as I continue as his wife; For I will have the power all my life Over his body, I and never he.”

Geoffrey Chaucer’s CT: The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale In the Middle Ages, women were portrayed in a terrible light. Many laws existed concerning sexual relations between married people. How do you prevent men (in this male-dominated society) from sinning in sexual matters?  Portray women as terrible creatures. This is the kind of society the Wife of Bath would have lived in.

Geoffrey Chaucer’s CT: The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale Lines 199-222: The first three husbands were "goode, and riche, and olde" (203) Lines 225-29: Alice likes her first three husbands because they were easy to dominate and control Alice got what she wanted from her husbands: money, possessions, love (though she didn't seem to love them), sexual satisfaction.

Geoffrey Chaucer’s CT: The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale Dame Alice's Fourth and Fifth Marriage (Lines 459-834) Digression showing Alice's more tender side The fifth husband, Janekin, is the only husband Alice married for love, not for money Dame Alice struggles to gain dominance over Janekin

The Church’s Hierarchy Virgins Widows who don’t remarry Married women “It was felt that God must love virgins most and that married people came a very poor third in his affections.” ---------------------------------------------------------- God Men Women Animals

In the course of her Prologue she seems to confirm as many stereotypes as she confronts. There's no question at all, though, that she gets your attention. In the late classical period, a lot of authors wrote treatises about the disadvantages of being married, particularly for men who hoped to have careers as scholars and thinkers.

1. Wives would talk your ear off, preventing you from getting any work done. 2. Wives would demand that you make lots of money to pay for their extravagant lifestyle. 3. They would spill your secrets to anyone who happened to walk by.

What Men Say About Women Nature has given women so much power that the law cannot afford to give her more. – Samuel Johnson No trust is to be placed in women. – Homer A woman, a spaniel, and a walnut tree, The more they’re beaten, the better they be. - Thomas Fuller Can you recall a women who ever showed you with pride her pibrary? – Benjamin Decasseres

Girls began to talk and to stand on their feet sooner than boys because weeds always grow up more quickly than crops. – Martin Luther A very little wit is valued in a woman, as we are pleased with few words spoken plain by a parrot. – Jonathan Swift

Wife of Bath Reflection Question In today’s society, where might you find individuals who would agree with the Wife and the philosophy she illustrates with her story? Who might argue against such opinions? Answer this reflection in a 5-7 sentence paragraph.