The Canterbury Tales Wife of Bath - 870 Words

The Canterbury Tales: Wife of Bath In the Hollywood blockbuster Basic Instinct, Sharon Stone plays a devious, manipulative, sex-driven woman who gets whatever she wants through her ploys for control. Stones portrayal of this character is unforgettable and makes the movie. In book or film, the most memorable female characters are those who break out of the stereotypical good wife mold. When an author or actress uses this technique effectively, the woman often carries the story. In Geoffrey Chaucers Canterbury Tales, he portrays the Wife of Bath, Alison, as a woman who bucks the tradition of her times with her brashness and desire for control to present a womans point of view and to evoke some sympathy for her. In the authors†¦show more content†¦And after he gives her control, we hadde never debat (P828). She has won this battle of wits, but it seems as though Jankyn has none. One way or another, Alison has made her puppets dance, completely under her dominion. Her tale backs up her philosophy, as the main point is that Wommen desire to have sovereinetee/As wel over hir housbonde and hir love,/And for to been in maistrye him above(T1044). The Tale backs up the Prologue and pleads for the emancipation of women. Alison is her own ideal of what a woman should be. By gaining sovereignty, she has the power. Chaucer has presented us with a fresh view of women, uncharacteristic of his time. The Wife of Bath is unique, and her defining qualities allow what the author thinks of women to reveal itself clearly. She is an immoral woman who has done whatever she has needed to do to get what she wants, and the author makes noShow MoreRelatedThe Wife Of Bath Tales And Chaucers The Canterbury Tales791 Words   |  4 Pagesbody did not feel the spade and the sewer as [her] live body felt the fire† (92). Shakespeare depicts Joan, in Henry VI, as â€Å"a ‘troll,’ ‘witch,’ ‘strumpet,’ ‘foul fiend of France’ (qtd. in Sarawsat 90). Likewise, Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales represents the ‘wife of Bath Tale’ as bawdy. The protagonist Alison â€Å"still submits to the rule of patriarchal world†, she suffers because she is oppressed to the bone. She â€Å"struggles for respect in her own household†. That is why; s he needs an inner upheavalRead MoreChaucers Canterbury Tales: The Wife of Bath Essay837 Words   |  4 Pagesweaves together tales of twenty nine different people on their common journey to Canterbury. Through their time on the road, these characters explore the diverse lives of those traveling together, narrated by the host of the group. Each character in the ensemble is entitled to a prologue, explaining his or her life and the reasons for the tale, as well as the actual story, meant to have moral implications or simply to entertain. One narrative in particular, that of the Wife of Bath, serves both purposes:Read More Wife of Bath in Chaecers Canterbury Tales Essay912 Words   |  4 Pages In the Canterbury Tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer the story tells about men and women going on pilgrimages, among them the Wife of Bath in search of her 6th husband, who go on a journey to pay their respect to Sir Thomas à ¡ Becket. During the story the Wife of Bath strongly expresses hers elf as a very strong woman and knows what she expects with the men shes with. As well as this, with all her beauty and respect she was given in life the Wife of Bath displays herself highly. Finally, she idealsRead More Canterbury Tales - Comparing Chaucers The Clerks Tale and The Wife of Bath Tale1963 Words   |  8 Pages In The Clerks Tale and The Wife of Baths Tale from Geoffrey Chaucers The Canterbury Tales, characters are demanding, powerful and manipulating in order to gain obedience from others. From all of The Canterbury Tales, The Clerks Tale and The Wife of Baths Tale are the two most similar tales. These tales relate to each other in the terms of obedience and the treatment of women. The Wife of Bath Tale consists of one woman who has complete controlRead More Chaucers Canterbury Tales Essay - The Strong Wife of Bath1112 Words   |  5 PagesThe Strong Wife of Bath       Alison of Bath as a battered wife may seem all wrong, but her fifth husband, Jankyn, did torment her and knock her down, if not out, deafening her somewhat in the process. Nevertheless, the Wife of Bath got the upper hand in this marriage as she had done in the other four and as she would probably do in the sixth, which she declared herself ready to welcome. Alison certainly ranks high among women able to gain control over their mates.    The Wife of BathsRead More Canterbury Tales Essay - Sexuality in The Wife of Bath and the Pardoner1711 Words   |  7 PagesSexuality in The Wife of Bath and the Pardoner In Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, an eclectic mix of people gathers together at Tabard Inn to begin a pilgrimage to Canterbury. In the General Prologue, the readers are introduced to each of these characters. Among the pilgrims are the provocative Wife of Bath and the meek Pardoner. These two characters both demonstrate sexuality, in very different ways. Chaucer uses the Wife and the Pardoner to examine sexuality in the medieval periodRead More Character Analysis of The Wife of Bath of Chaucers Canterbury Tales1623 Words   |  7 Pages Character Analysis of The Wife of Bath of Chaucers Canterbury Tales The Canterbury Tales is Geoffrey Chaucers greatest and most memorable work. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer uses a fictitious pilgrimage [to Canterbury] as a framing device for a number of stories (Norton 79). In The General Prologue of The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer describes in detail the pilgrims he meets in the inn on their way to Canterbury. Chaucer is the author, but also a character and the narrator, and acts likeRead More Chaucers Canterbury Tales Essay - The Powerful Wife of Bath1099 Words   |  5 PagesThe Powerful Wife of Bath   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Geoffrey Chacers The Canterbury Tales we are introduced to 29 people who are going on a pilgrimage to St. Thomas a Becket in Canterbury. Each person is represented to fit a unique type of behavior as shown by people during the medieval ages.   My attention was drawn to the Wife of Bath through which Chaucer notes the gender inequalities.   Predominantly, women could either choose to marry and become a childbearing wife or go intoRead MoreChaucer s Canterbury Tales And The Wife Of Bath s Tale1167 Words   |  5 Pagesalways tries to improve a part of society in a moral basis. The reason it targets a part of society is because didactic literature has an audience of origin that the moral applies to. For example, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales: â€Å"The Wife of Bath s Prologue† and â€Å"The Wife of Bath s Tale† , which is written by Geoffrey Chaucer, takes place during the late 5th and early 6th century during King Arthur’s reign of Great Britain. During this era, society was structured in a totally different manner thanRead More Chaucers Canterbury Tales Essay - Women in The Wife of Bath1433 Words   |  6 PagesWomen in Chaucers The Wife of Bath Chaucers The Wife of Baths Prologue and Tale is a medieval legend that paints a portrait of strong women finding love and themselves in the direst of situations. It is presented to the modern day reader as an early tale of feminism showcasing the ways a female character gains power within a repressive, patriarchal society. Underneath the simplistic plot of female empowerment lies an underbelly of anti-feminism. Sometimes this is presented blatantly