The Wife of Bath
“Experience, though no written authority
Were in this world, is good enough for me
To speak of the woe that is marriage”
General Prologue:
She owns cloth manufacturing business; capitalist entrepreneur
Beginning in the 13th century, cloth manufacturing was becoming a rural business, hence the significance of her living “near Bath,” a small town during the Middle Ages within the Avon Valley, a major cloth-producing area
Being gap-toothed indicates a strong sexual appetite
Bright clothes, embroidered kerchiefs, wide hat, and nice shoes shows her desire to display wealth, not necessarily elegance
Pilgrimages suggest piety; however, she goes because she is gregarious and adventurous
She has good social skills, especially flirtation
The Wife of Bath’s Prologue:
Her Arguments Against Chastity:
o Apologia: defensive explanation of lifestyle (e.g. her five marriages)
o Defends her actions against conservative teachings of the Bible and its ancient writers
o However, support for her argument comes from the Bible
o Argues against the idea that virginity is superior to marriage
o Claims no one can know what Jesus meant when he told the Samaritan that her fifth husband was not her husband
o Cites number of Abraham’s and Jacob’s wives and St. Paul’s clarification that being married is better than being consumed by desire
o Compares the chaste to refined white bread and the married to barley-bread, with which Jesus fed a whole crowd (citing Mark’s gospel)
o Irony: Just as moralistic clergymen use biblical support for their conservative arguments, she uses it for her more liberal one; perhaps Chaucer is commenting on the fallibility of clergymen’s case
Her Experience:
Since she was twelve years old, she has had five husbands
o Three were good, two were bad
o The three good men were rich and old
o She “had them wholly in [her] hand,” and so did not try to please them
o She tricked them by lying that when they were drunk they had said how nagging, deceiving, and unfaithful wives were and that it was better not to be married; in addition, she claimed they were committing adultery, when they were not
o Her apprentice and her niece confirm these lies to her husband
o As a result, husbands believed she loved them and—out of their guilt—gave her control of the marriage
Alisoun speaks of her fourth husband, an adulterer
o Tortured him because she was jealous
o Line 489: “…in earth I was his purgatory”
o Describes about how young and happy she was at this age
She tells about her fifth husband Jankin, “the greatest scoundrel” whom she married for love, not money
o He is 20 years old; she is 40
o He was formerly a clerk of Oxford
o She flirts with him to provide herself with a husband once her current one dies; reinforces that she is not the passive female stereotype
o Lies that he “enchanted” her and that she dreamt of him
o When they marry, she gives all of her land and wealth to him
o Line 513-514: “I believe I loved him best, because he/ Was of his love standoffish to me.”
o Even though he beat her, he would win her back in the bedroom
o He reads a book about wicked wives every night and gives quotes to Alisoun about how terrible wives are and how women are only beautiful if they are chaste
o She tears out three pages of his book and punches his face so that he falls into the fire
o He hits her on the head, making her deaf, and she falls to the floor
o After regaining consciousness, she accuses him of trying to murder her and hits him
o He feels guilty and relinquishes all control—both of the marriage and of property—over to Alisoun
o They never argue again
Interruptions:
Between The Wife of Bath’s argument and her experiences (within her Prologue)
o Pardoner interjects that he is getting married this year, but now would rather not
o She tells him to wait and hear her out
o He then asks her to “teach us young men of [her] practice”
o She says she will, but cautions that her “intention is only to amuse”
Between her Prologue and her Tale
o Friar interrupts, saying that Alisoun is taking awhile to start her tale.
o Summoner says that friars allows intrude themselves and tells the Friar to shut up.
o Friar retorts that he will tell a humorous tale about a summoner.
o Summoner says that his tale about friars will “make [the friar’s] heart mourn”
o Host tells them both to shut up and let the lady speak.
o Wife of Bath says she will, if she has the Friar’s permission, which he gives.
Her Character
o Believes that her personality results from astrological signs
o Venus gave her lust and amorousness; Mars gave her sturdiness and boldness
o Seemingly conflicting signs, yet her strength of character (attributed to Mars) influences her romantic and marital interactions (Venus)
o Easily gains upper hand in arguments (seen with her husbands and later with the Friar)
o Tenacious (demonstrated in fight with Jankin)
o Candid (talks about her quoniam and her “chamber of Venus”)
o Down-to-earth and social (enjoys gossiping more than religious or intellectual pursuits)
o Intelligent (knows and quotes many authorities, e.g. Dante and Pauline epistles), even though somewhat scattered in her arguments
o Does not pretend to be pious, unlike the other pilgrims (goes on pilgrimage for social aspect and frankly tells the group she is looking for another husband)
o Concerned with wealth and material goods; not surprising considering the wealth newly acquired by the merchant middle class of which she is an active member
o “Everyone can profit for everything is for sale” (line 414)
o “My husband shall have it both evenings and mornings,/ When it pleases him to come forth and pay his debt” (lines 153-154)
o Her happiness directly correlates to her personal wealth
o Taken from the stereotype of the “old bawd” and fallen woman
Gender roles:
o An independent woman seen as a threat to men’s position; Chaucer exaggerates this belief into Alisoun needing to dominate her husbands and her fight with Jankin over control
o In the Middle Ages, women were considered more materialistic, more sexual, and less reasonable than men
o Alisoun fits the first two stereotypes, yet she is reasonable in her arguments
o As she recalls how happy and playful she used to be and laments her old age, Chaucer gives her character dimension beyond stereotypes. At the same time, he reinforces her conformity to be what men desire
o Conflict about which gender is superior: in the Church, men were considered superior to women. In courtly tradition, the man does what his lady asks, thus giving her a higher ranking.
Traditional gender roles reversed with Jankin
o Jankin becomes the sexual object; “…I thought he had a pair/ Of legs and of feet so neat and fair/ That all my heart I gave unto his keeping” (lines 597-599)
o Usually younger women married older men to gain wealth; however, younger Jankin marries Alisoun for her money
o He uses sex to influence her, just as she did with her previous husbands
o He attempts to gain control of the marriage by using ancient authorities from the book of wicked wives to support his arguments; yet Alisoun’s “experience” and tenacity win in the end
The Tale (summary taken from http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/canttales/wbt/)
In Arthur's day, before the friars drove away the fairies, a lusty bachelor of the king's court raped a young maiden. He is taken and condemned to die (such was the custom then) but the king, in deference to [the queen's] pleas, allows the ladies to judge him. They tell him he can save his life only if a year and a day later he can tell them what it is that women most desire. He wanders long without finding the answer; he is about to return disconsolate when he comes upon an old and remarkably ugly woman. She says that if he swears to do whatever she will next ask him, she will tell him the answer. He agrees and returns with the answer: women most desire to have sovereignty over their husbands. [The queen] and her ladies are amazed; they grant him his life. The old woman then makes her demand: that he marry her. She will accept no less. On their wedding night; he turns away from her. She asks him what is the matter. He answers that she is old and ugly and low born. The old woman demonstrates to him that none of these matter -- especially noble birth, since true gentilesse depends on deeds rather than birth. She offers him the choice: he can have her old and ugly and faithful or young, beautiful, and possibly unchaste. He tells her to choose; he grants her the sovereignty. When he does so she turns into a beautiful maiden, and they live thereafter in perfect joy.
Order of the Canterbury Tales
Chaucer recited his work at court, never collected it into a bound volume
Four major orders known
Wife of Bath’s tale possibly followed the Cook’s, Lawyer’s, Clerk’s, or Squire’s tales; each have antifeminist elements
Perhaps her lengthy argument in the prologue and her tale is a response to preceding tale
Setting of Tale
King Arthur’s time: idealized, exemplary
Queen overrides king
Pagan setting: no religious influences, therefore avoiding misogynistic overtones
Escape from antifeminism inherent in current culture
Arthurian Romance
Knight on a quest in search of an answer to a question
Knight’s answer reinforces the prologue’s theme
Occurs between court and the forest
Marriage of “loathly lady” and a Knight echoes Alison’s relationship to Jankin
Digressions
King Midas has ass’s ears and asks his wife to keep his secret. She cannot keep the secret, so she puts her head underwater while revealing it.
Midas’ tale relates to her Prologue
Alisoun mixes mythologies and genres
“Loathly lady” lectures her husband at length about “gentillesse;” she explains that true nobility comes from goodness of character, not rank
Nobility has nothing to do with marital relations
Wife of Bath seems unconcerned with nobility and kindness; digression appears to be out of character
Old woman quotes Dante, which is anachronistic and unlikely considering her status
Character sources used in creating the Wife of Bath (from the Roman de la Rose):
La Vieille (the old woman): married several times, controls husbands
Le Jaloux (the jealous one)
Literary Sources for the Tale
Several Arthurian romances in which a knight rapes a woman and goes unpunished, or judged
“Loathly lady” is a common theme in Arthurian romances
Many analogues to this tale in which a knight’s mistress gives him the choice whether she will be pretty by day or by night
Most similar is the Marriage of Sir Gawain, in which Gawain must discover what women must desire, and his mistress changes her appearance based on his behavior
Wife of Bath’s tale also closely resembles Gower’s Tale of Florent; perhaps share the same source
Breton lais (short, popular romance with rhyming verse) with supernatural characters and reform resulting from unusual justice
Chaucer slightly changes Ovid’s tale of Midas to fit with the Wife’s agenda
Interestingly, most of Chaucer’s sources were antifeminist (Roman de la Rose, Boccaccio’s Decameron), yet he produces a dimensional, strong female character
Criticism:
Alisoun and Lollardy
Chaucer’s contemporaries would have recognized associations between the Wife of Bath and Lollardy.
Lollard- a member of a sect of religious reformers in England who were followers of John Wycliff in the 14th and 15th centuries. Wycliff preached that the Church was corrupt and the only true religious authority was the Bible, not priests. He also wrote an English version of the Bible, which was considered heretical and was illegal.
The profession of weaving closely linked to heresy.
Lollardy allowed women to read and preach
However, the Wife of Bath differs from Lollards in that they thought pilgrimages (especially to Canterbury) were wrong, and they did not believe in confessions, which her Prologue seems to be.
Commercialism of the Wife of Bath
Prologue and tale show the changes and interests in economics resulting from the Black Plague
She is a “commercial being,” who considers sex a business transaction
Men reduce her to the commodity of sex, which she then sells as a way of obtaining control
The Wife of Bath revels in being for sale
Not so Independent after all
Because the Wife of Bath asks general questions to an undefined audience, she looks to other people (men) for the answer that she does not feel competent enough to give
By deceiving and controlling her husbands, she falls into the antifeminist stereotype that women are liars and manipulators
“…and so the patient and the impatient woman—the norm and the transgression—are presented as two sides of the same coin, able to see themselves and speak for themselves only in terms provided by the dominant language and mythology of their culture.”In the tale, a rapist knight’s life is in the hands of the queen—who still needed permission from her king to save him. After wielding power over him, the old hag gives it up to transform herself into an obedient, beautiful wife. Thus, a rapist is rewarded in the end, and Chaucer returns to a more acceptable position.
“Experience, though no written authority
Were in this world, is good enough for me
To speak of the woe that is marriage”
General Prologue:
She owns cloth manufacturing business; capitalist entrepreneur
Beginning in the 13th century, cloth manufacturing was becoming a rural business, hence the significance of her living “near Bath,” a small town during the Middle Ages within the Avon Valley, a major cloth-producing area
Being gap-toothed indicates a strong sexual appetite
Bright clothes, embroidered kerchiefs, wide hat, and nice shoes shows her desire to display wealth, not necessarily elegance
Pilgrimages suggest piety; however, she goes because she is gregarious and adventurous
She has good social skills, especially flirtation
The Wife of Bath’s Prologue:
Her Arguments Against Chastity:
o Apologia: defensive explanation of lifestyle (e.g. her five marriages)
o Defends her actions against conservative teachings of the Bible and its ancient writers
o However, support for her argument comes from the Bible
o Argues against the idea that virginity is superior to marriage
o Claims no one can know what Jesus meant when he told the Samaritan that her fifth husband was not her husband
o Cites number of Abraham’s and Jacob’s wives and St. Paul’s clarification that being married is better than being consumed by desire
o Compares the chaste to refined white bread and the married to barley-bread, with which Jesus fed a whole crowd (citing Mark’s gospel)
o Irony: Just as moralistic clergymen use biblical support for their conservative arguments, she uses it for her more liberal one; perhaps Chaucer is commenting on the fallibility of clergymen’s case
Her Experience:
Since she was twelve years old, she has had five husbands
o Three were good, two were bad
o The three good men were rich and old
o She “had them wholly in [her] hand,” and so did not try to please them
o She tricked them by lying that when they were drunk they had said how nagging, deceiving, and unfaithful wives were and that it was better not to be married; in addition, she claimed they were committing adultery, when they were not
o Her apprentice and her niece confirm these lies to her husband
o As a result, husbands believed she loved them and—out of their guilt—gave her control of the marriage
Alisoun speaks of her fourth husband, an adulterer
o Tortured him because she was jealous
o Line 489: “…in earth I was his purgatory”
o Describes about how young and happy she was at this age
She tells about her fifth husband Jankin, “the greatest scoundrel” whom she married for love, not money
o He is 20 years old; she is 40
o He was formerly a clerk of Oxford
o She flirts with him to provide herself with a husband once her current one dies; reinforces that she is not the passive female stereotype
o Lies that he “enchanted” her and that she dreamt of him
o When they marry, she gives all of her land and wealth to him
o Line 513-514: “I believe I loved him best, because he/ Was of his love standoffish to me.”
o Even though he beat her, he would win her back in the bedroom
o He reads a book about wicked wives every night and gives quotes to Alisoun about how terrible wives are and how women are only beautiful if they are chaste
o She tears out three pages of his book and punches his face so that he falls into the fire
o He hits her on the head, making her deaf, and she falls to the floor
o After regaining consciousness, she accuses him of trying to murder her and hits him
o He feels guilty and relinquishes all control—both of the marriage and of property—over to Alisoun
o They never argue again
Interruptions:
Between The Wife of Bath’s argument and her experiences (within her Prologue)
o Pardoner interjects that he is getting married this year, but now would rather not
o She tells him to wait and hear her out
o He then asks her to “teach us young men of [her] practice”
o She says she will, but cautions that her “intention is only to amuse”
Between her Prologue and her Tale
o Friar interrupts, saying that Alisoun is taking awhile to start her tale.
o Summoner says that friars allows intrude themselves and tells the Friar to shut up.
o Friar retorts that he will tell a humorous tale about a summoner.
o Summoner says that his tale about friars will “make [the friar’s] heart mourn”
o Host tells them both to shut up and let the lady speak.
o Wife of Bath says she will, if she has the Friar’s permission, which he gives.
Her Character
o Believes that her personality results from astrological signs
o Venus gave her lust and amorousness; Mars gave her sturdiness and boldness
o Seemingly conflicting signs, yet her strength of character (attributed to Mars) influences her romantic and marital interactions (Venus)
o Easily gains upper hand in arguments (seen with her husbands and later with the Friar)
o Tenacious (demonstrated in fight with Jankin)
o Candid (talks about her quoniam and her “chamber of Venus”)
o Down-to-earth and social (enjoys gossiping more than religious or intellectual pursuits)
o Intelligent (knows and quotes many authorities, e.g. Dante and Pauline epistles), even though somewhat scattered in her arguments
o Does not pretend to be pious, unlike the other pilgrims (goes on pilgrimage for social aspect and frankly tells the group she is looking for another husband)
o Concerned with wealth and material goods; not surprising considering the wealth newly acquired by the merchant middle class of which she is an active member
o “Everyone can profit for everything is for sale” (line 414)
o “My husband shall have it both evenings and mornings,/ When it pleases him to come forth and pay his debt” (lines 153-154)
o Her happiness directly correlates to her personal wealth
o Taken from the stereotype of the “old bawd” and fallen woman
Gender roles:
o An independent woman seen as a threat to men’s position; Chaucer exaggerates this belief into Alisoun needing to dominate her husbands and her fight with Jankin over control
o In the Middle Ages, women were considered more materialistic, more sexual, and less reasonable than men
o Alisoun fits the first two stereotypes, yet she is reasonable in her arguments
o As she recalls how happy and playful she used to be and laments her old age, Chaucer gives her character dimension beyond stereotypes. At the same time, he reinforces her conformity to be what men desire
o Conflict about which gender is superior: in the Church, men were considered superior to women. In courtly tradition, the man does what his lady asks, thus giving her a higher ranking.
Traditional gender roles reversed with Jankin
o Jankin becomes the sexual object; “…I thought he had a pair/ Of legs and of feet so neat and fair/ That all my heart I gave unto his keeping” (lines 597-599)
o Usually younger women married older men to gain wealth; however, younger Jankin marries Alisoun for her money
o He uses sex to influence her, just as she did with her previous husbands
o He attempts to gain control of the marriage by using ancient authorities from the book of wicked wives to support his arguments; yet Alisoun’s “experience” and tenacity win in the end
The Tale (summary taken from http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/canttales/wbt/)
In Arthur's day, before the friars drove away the fairies, a lusty bachelor of the king's court raped a young maiden. He is taken and condemned to die (such was the custom then) but the king, in deference to [the queen's] pleas, allows the ladies to judge him. They tell him he can save his life only if a year and a day later he can tell them what it is that women most desire. He wanders long without finding the answer; he is about to return disconsolate when he comes upon an old and remarkably ugly woman. She says that if he swears to do whatever she will next ask him, she will tell him the answer. He agrees and returns with the answer: women most desire to have sovereignty over their husbands. [The queen] and her ladies are amazed; they grant him his life. The old woman then makes her demand: that he marry her. She will accept no less. On their wedding night; he turns away from her. She asks him what is the matter. He answers that she is old and ugly and low born. The old woman demonstrates to him that none of these matter -- especially noble birth, since true gentilesse depends on deeds rather than birth. She offers him the choice: he can have her old and ugly and faithful or young, beautiful, and possibly unchaste. He tells her to choose; he grants her the sovereignty. When he does so she turns into a beautiful maiden, and they live thereafter in perfect joy.
Order of the Canterbury Tales
Chaucer recited his work at court, never collected it into a bound volume
Four major orders known
Wife of Bath’s tale possibly followed the Cook’s, Lawyer’s, Clerk’s, or Squire’s tales; each have antifeminist elements
Perhaps her lengthy argument in the prologue and her tale is a response to preceding tale
Setting of Tale
King Arthur’s time: idealized, exemplary
Queen overrides king
Pagan setting: no religious influences, therefore avoiding misogynistic overtones
Escape from antifeminism inherent in current culture
Arthurian Romance
Knight on a quest in search of an answer to a question
Knight’s answer reinforces the prologue’s theme
Occurs between court and the forest
Marriage of “loathly lady” and a Knight echoes Alison’s relationship to Jankin
Digressions
King Midas has ass’s ears and asks his wife to keep his secret. She cannot keep the secret, so she puts her head underwater while revealing it.
Midas’ tale relates to her Prologue
Alisoun mixes mythologies and genres
“Loathly lady” lectures her husband at length about “gentillesse;” she explains that true nobility comes from goodness of character, not rank
Nobility has nothing to do with marital relations
Wife of Bath seems unconcerned with nobility and kindness; digression appears to be out of character
Old woman quotes Dante, which is anachronistic and unlikely considering her status
Character sources used in creating the Wife of Bath (from the Roman de la Rose):
La Vieille (the old woman): married several times, controls husbands
Le Jaloux (the jealous one)
Literary Sources for the Tale
Several Arthurian romances in which a knight rapes a woman and goes unpunished, or judged
“Loathly lady” is a common theme in Arthurian romances
Many analogues to this tale in which a knight’s mistress gives him the choice whether she will be pretty by day or by night
Most similar is the Marriage of Sir Gawain, in which Gawain must discover what women must desire, and his mistress changes her appearance based on his behavior
Wife of Bath’s tale also closely resembles Gower’s Tale of Florent; perhaps share the same source
Breton lais (short, popular romance with rhyming verse) with supernatural characters and reform resulting from unusual justice
Chaucer slightly changes Ovid’s tale of Midas to fit with the Wife’s agenda
Interestingly, most of Chaucer’s sources were antifeminist (Roman de la Rose, Boccaccio’s Decameron), yet he produces a dimensional, strong female character
Criticism:
Alisoun and Lollardy
Chaucer’s contemporaries would have recognized associations between the Wife of Bath and Lollardy.
Lollard- a member of a sect of religious reformers in England who were followers of John Wycliff in the 14th and 15th centuries. Wycliff preached that the Church was corrupt and the only true religious authority was the Bible, not priests. He also wrote an English version of the Bible, which was considered heretical and was illegal.
The profession of weaving closely linked to heresy.
Lollardy allowed women to read and preach
However, the Wife of Bath differs from Lollards in that they thought pilgrimages (especially to Canterbury) were wrong, and they did not believe in confessions, which her Prologue seems to be.
Commercialism of the Wife of Bath
Prologue and tale show the changes and interests in economics resulting from the Black Plague
She is a “commercial being,” who considers sex a business transaction
Men reduce her to the commodity of sex, which she then sells as a way of obtaining control
The Wife of Bath revels in being for sale
Not so Independent after all
Because the Wife of Bath asks general questions to an undefined audience, she looks to other people (men) for the answer that she does not feel competent enough to give
By deceiving and controlling her husbands, she falls into the antifeminist stereotype that women are liars and manipulators
“…and so the patient and the impatient woman—the norm and the transgression—are presented as two sides of the same coin, able to see themselves and speak for themselves only in terms provided by the dominant language and mythology of their culture.”In the tale, a rapist knight’s life is in the hands of the queen—who still needed permission from her king to save him. After wielding power over him, the old hag gives it up to transform herself into an obedient, beautiful wife. Thus, a rapist is rewarded in the end, and Chaucer returns to a more acceptable position.
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