{"id":238,"date":"2021-02-14T00:29:31","date_gmt":"2021-02-14T00:29:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/?p=238"},"modified":"2021-02-14T00:30:11","modified_gmt":"2021-02-14T00:30:11","slug":"an-exploration-of-chaucers-the-wife-of-bath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/?p=238","title":{"rendered":"A Short Exploration of Chaucer’s “The Wife of Bath”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The character of the Wife of Bath in Geoffrey Chaucer\u2019s The Canterbury Tales <\/em>encompasses a longstanding feminine plight, present even in modernity. Her plight is founded on societal and traditionally religious opinions that men are superior<\/em> to women in every sense of the term. Within the story, Chaucer\u2019s claim about what women want most in life appears to be grounded on the same framework, as he alludes directly to Eve\u2019s biblical curse after the fall of man, and indirectly to the manner in which society viewed and treated women at the time. It appears that his conclusion, however, does not present a vengeful, female-dominated desire, but rather a gracious, and mutually beneficial compromise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the biblical book of Genesis, Eve was cursed after the fall, along with all her female decedents: \u201cYour desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you\u201d (Genesis 3:16). This signifies that women will desire to control their husbands, and men will use their might to rule over them. It was a prophesy of eminent male-female conflict in the generations following Adam and Eve\u2019s spiritual death. Chaucer must have been familiar with this passage, because he reiterates it in his claim about what women want most: \u201cWomen desire to have sovereignty as well over her husband as her love, and to be in mastery above him\u201d (Chaucer, 1044-1046). Here, the word \u201csovereignty\u201d serves to underscore ideas of dominion, control, and power with respect to the marital relationship\u2014an inconceivable notion for the women at the time, yet still a significant desire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first part of the passage alludes to the female longing to have sovereignty over her own body as well as over her husband. In England during the middle ages, women\u2019s wombs were thought to be inherently \u201ccold,\u201d and therefore needed to be helped with the consistent \u201cwarming by hot male sperm\u201d (Mortimer, 55). It was accepted as a medical necessity for women to have frequent sexual intercourse, and therefore, difficult for them to refuse it. In such a restrictive environment where women did not even have control over their own bodies, it is remarkable that Chaucer would attempt to present the woman\u2019s opinion on the matter of sovereignty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the tale, just before the desperate knight pronounces his findings on what women want, he addresses the Queen as his \u201cliege,\u201d using an honoring tone of voice. Similarly, he ends his short speech with, \u201c\u2026though you kill me\u2026do as you please; I am here subject to your will,\u201d again emphasizing his newfound understanding of what actually speaks to a woman\u2019s heart (1047-1048). Further in the text, he painfully sacrifices his own desire for a young, beautiful wife by giving his old, decrepit wife the agency to make the significant decision about what is best for their relationship: \u201cMy lady and my love\u2026I put me in your wise governance; choose yourself which may be most pleasure and most honor to you and me also\u201d (1236-1239). He offers her honor, and sovereignty to decide for herself. In turn, he receives what he, too, most desires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a remarkable compromise in the place of what one might imagine would be vengeful feminine dominion. It is significant that compromise requires the knight to act first\u2014to give his lady freedom and authority to choose, as it is within his societal power to withhold it from her.  However, in response to his gentleness, the lady meets the knight\u2019s desire as well, and everyone is content. It appears that Chaucer potentially had a progressive view of women for his time, one of genuine respect and dignity, and one that he desired to share. This perhaps could be a result of his own love and respect for his wife, Philippa. Wherever it originates, it is evident that he had a great appreciation for the women in his life, as he says in another text \u201cWhat is better than wisdom? Woman. And what is better than a good woman? Nothing\u201d (Mortimer, 58). Given the traditionally misogynistic society in which he lived, Chaucer shines a surprising beam of light and hope through the Wife of Bath\u2019s Tale <\/em>for a life of peace, love, and contentment within marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

September 19, 2018<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Works cited:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chaucer, Geoffrey. \u201cThe Wife of Bath.\u201d The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The<\/em> Middle Ages, <\/em>edited by Stephen Greenblatt, James Simpson, Alfred David, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2012, pp. 282-310.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGenesis\u201dRyrie Study Bible. King James Version, Moody Publishers<\/em>, 1994.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mortimer, Ian. \u201cThe Time Traveler\u2019s Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century.\u201d Simon and Schuster, Inc., <\/em>New York, 2010.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The character of the Wife of Bath in Geoffrey Chaucer\u2019s The Canterbury Tales encompasses a longstanding feminine plight, present even in modernity. Her plight is founded on societal and traditionally religious opinions that men are superior to women in every sense of the term. Within the story, Chaucer\u2019s claim about what women want most in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[71,72],"class_list":["post-238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-critical-analyses","tag-chaucer","tag-the-wife-of-bath"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=238"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":240,"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238\/revisions\/240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}