THE WIFE OF BATH'S

The Canterbury tales
Geoffrey Chaucer
The Wife of Bath’s
The Wife of Bath’s tells a story a woman who is fighting the by standards of the
society and she questions in this tale women’s rights of freedom of choice, de-
cision and sovereignty. The story teller questions women’s rights of multiple
marriages same as men. The prologue discusses the Wife of Bath’s story the
marries five times three of which were happy marriages whereas the last two
were unfortunate ones. Through this prologue the writer describes women’s
status through their relationships with their husbands and not through their
own accomplishments.
While the author was explaining in the prologue how everyone looked and
sounded and told a bit of their characters. He explained a lot about her, that
one may have never noticed in her prologue, for example why she was called
the Wife of Bath’s and that she was married to 5 men.
She was called the Wife of Bath’s because she came from a small city called
Bath. She was deaf from one ear. She was a well to do woman who loved to
dress nicely covering her large hips and big feet. She had a gap between her
teeth. As also described she was a well to do woman who liked to travel and
was also well cultured. At her century she had a one of a kind personality and
didn’t care what other’s may think for example she married 5 men and thought
it was women’s right to do so, she thought nothing wrong in marrying as much
as she wants and it’s her right. She had scarlet red panty hoes, a garter, and
her shoes where shiny and new. She wore kerchiefs that were fine in texture
and heavy. She was beautiful, handsome, and pretty and loved to laugh, have
conversations, flirt with men, but mostly have fun. From the outside she may
have seemed very superficial but underlying her appearance lies a profound
character. For her, mischances weren’t a disaster but new experiences in life.
The Wife of Bath’s tells the story of a knight who raped a fairy and was con-
demned to death by King Arthur. But the queen begged for the king’s mercy,
which he granted giving the knight a year to discover what women desire most.
After a lot of searching he nearly got the same answers. Honor, jollity and plea-
sure, gorgeous clothes, fun in bed, widowed and remarried were among the an-
swers given by various women the knight asked. The story teller debates that
the freedom to do exactly what women please, with no one to reprove their
faults and lies rather to have one call them good and wise is equally important.
After a year has gone, the knight had lost hope. He was at the margin of the
woods when he saw the leafy floor of twenty four ladies dancing. He decided to
ask them the question when he eagerly approached them in order to find the
key to his misery they vanished in the air. There was no one except this old
fouler looking woman.
She offered him to solve his paradox if he promised to submit to whatever she
asks for. He reluctantly agrees thinking that he might have to pay her money.
Later on, they reached the court house and the women said that sovereignty
over men is that women desire most. When the answer was admired by all
women in the court the knight was set free. In return for her favor, the old lady
asked the knight hands in marriage. Sadly he agreed. On the night of consum-
mating their marriage, the old woman found the knight sad. Then she asked
him the ultimate question if he would rather have a beautiful young wife de-
spite of being a cheater and shallow, or a loyal and humble ugly wife. The
knight said that he would choose whatever she decides and he left the decision
for his wife. Upon saying that, the old lady turned to a beautiful smart young
woman, and they lived happily ever after. Ultimately, the knight found his hap-
piness when he gave happiness to his wife by giving her the chance to choose
for herself.
One may think that what women really want is having the right and the free-
dom to make their own decisions and the sovereignty over themselves at the
first place. Women don’t want sovereignty over men, but they want to feel
themselves equal to men and share men life decisions. Women don’t want to
be identified by the husbands they marry, but they want to be identified by
their thoughts and their progress in life. Women are equally smart and hard
workers and deserve to be recognized for that. Rather than sovereignty,
women need autonomy. This idea is well depicted in the story of the Wife of
Bath’s. I think this tale is representative of women, not in the middle ages
when it was written, but in our modern days as well.

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The Canterbury tales

The Wife of Bath’s

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