The Wife Of Bath In Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
In Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales “The wife of Bath” is one of the most captivating stories. This is primarily because the main character Wife of Bath or otherwise known as Alisoun is the complete opposite of how someone with a medieval mindset would think the role of a woman should be. In medieval times, women were viewed as being submissive to their husbands and kept most of their thoughts and ideas to themselves. The wife of bath defies the medieval mindset of who a woman should be by being very promiscuous and controlling her multiple husbands in an unorthodox way. Even though her persona is perceived as being confident and self-absorbed, Alisoun may have more depth than what is shown on the surface of the story. Her choice in husbands,
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One of the theories could be that she got married too young. Alisoun first got married when she was twelve years old and she continued to marry following each husbands death. Because she was married off at such a young age, like many young girls during the medieval times, her youth was taken away from her. She never truly got to experience her youth without a husband being by her side. In order to compensate for lost time, she would have to make sure that she had total control over her life, including gaining control of the men she marries. This theory could also explain why her physical appearance is the way it is. In the prologue to the Canterbury tales, Chaucer describes Alisoun’s character as an older, unattractive woman who wore very fine clothing. Because of her age and her unattractiveness, the extravagant clothing boosts her self-esteem. In line 338-347 she argues that she doesn’t dress to attract men despite what her husband may think. So the only other explanation is that she dresses this way to make herself feel better. In her tale of the knight, the old woman at the end of the story reflects what Alisoun desires most which is complete control and be beautiful just like how the old lady turns young and beautiful at the end of her
One of the theories could be that she got married too young. Alisoun first got married when she was twelve years old and she continued to marry following each husbands death. Because she was married off at such a young age, like many young girls during the medieval times, her youth was taken away from her. She never truly got to experience her youth without a husband being by her side. In order to compensate for lost time, she would have to make sure that she had total control over her life, including gaining control of the men she marries. This theory could also explain why her physical appearance is the way it is. In the prologue to the Canterbury tales, Chaucer describes Alisoun’s character as an older, unattractive woman who wore very fine clothing. Because of her age and her unattractiveness, the extravagant clothing boosts her self-esteem. In line 338-347 she argues that she doesn’t dress to attract men despite what her husband may think. So the only other explanation is that she dresses this way to make herself feel better. In her tale of the knight, the old woman at the end of the story reflects what Alisoun desires most which is complete control and be beautiful just like how the old lady turns young and beautiful at the end of her