The Wife of the Bath by Chaucer Analysis - Research Paper Example

The wife of bath al affiliation The wife of bath Task The wife of the bath is a tale that outlines the role and the position of women in the society during the late middle age. The story describes the nature of the society and the situation of men and women at the time. During this time, education for women was limited, and their position in the society was base. Women were expected to stay at home and satisfy their husbands, bear children and ensure that the family was happy at all times. The late middle age during which the tale of the wife of birth is therefore not known to practice civilized behavior towards females. The wife of birth was in existence during the middle age in the medieval period. During this time, women were allowed to attend schools only to learn basic issues and not to pursue careers in colleges like their husbands. Colleges were therefore seen as privileges and a waste of resources in light of women (Chaucer, 2012). The wife of the bath was a rebel who found it challenging to follow the authority of the land. On the other hand, she prefers to follow her life experiences rather than the laws and the authority. One of the most interesting issues about the woman is that she had the chance to get married to five men in her lifetime. In this light, she feels that she has the greatest experience to deal with marriage issues and also offer advice to people about marriage and relationships. The wife of bath was well known for enjoying sexual relationships and ensuring that her husbands were pleased and made to enjoy their lives (Minnis, 2013). Regardless of her marriage to five different men in her lifetime, she is not ashamed of the effect that it has on the society. She is happy to be the center of discussion in the society, and her behavior does not worry her at all. Moreover, her reference to the Bible in her support is seen as one of the greatest challenges she had offered to the society. To her, God should not even condemn her for marrying multiple men. Also, she does not hold the same view as the Bible that virginity is one of the greatest virtues that a woman can possess (Clarke, 2014). The wife of bath got into relationships on the basis of appearance and not affection. The mere attraction to a man was enough to have her marry that man. She was also not selective about the age of the men that she was involved with. One of her renowned behaviors was nagging her husbands. She believed that nagging the men at this time was the only way that she could get all that she needed. In her relationship with her fifth husband, she was often beaten and mistreated by the man who had married her for money. However, to her, this man was her one true love that she could not do without. In one of their family feuds, he hit her so hard that she had to pretend that she was dead. It is then that he promised to give her anything she wanted as long as she stayed alive. She arose, and they lived happily ever after. Through this experience, she learned that to be happy in marriage, the woman must always be in control (McCarron, 2012). The wife of baths was depicted as courageous as she does not mind the talk of the other members of society about her. Also, she can be said to be bold, daring and charismatic as she is seen quoting the Bible to support her character and behavior. She is also outstanding and different from other women of the middle age. She does not allow the society to dictate her life and character, also her way of life. Her mode of dressing is also seen to bring a lot of controversies as she dresses inappropriately, contrary to the standards held by other women in society. However, all the character traits she portrays are not about liberation for women but empowering women and giving them control over their husbands (Minnis, 2013). At the end of the tale, a knight is sentenced to death for raping a maiden during King Arthur’s time. The queen mediates on his part and offers him a chance to redeem himself by establishing what exactly even woman in marriage desires. It is then that he meets the old wife of bath after a whole year of questioning other women, and gives him the most suitable and conclusive answer to the question on which the queen sought answers. The wife of bath was the old lady who helped save the knight’s life by giving him the answer. In the response, she outlined that all that a woman in marriage wanted to have was the control of the husbands that they had. It is this reply that pleases the Queen, and his life was spared. The tale is, therefore, a perfect example of the position of women in many societies in the old day when they had little or no say (Chaucer, 2012). Task 2 There are medieval estate models that have been evaluated and employed in the tale of the wife of bath. The first estate was the church that dealt with the clergy and other members of the church who continuously prayed and believed in God and the existence of the Holy Spirit. The second estate was the nobility. These were those involved in fights and the defense of the entire society and their mention in the tale helps to point out their role in the society. The final category of the estates was the peasantry. The group was composed of the other members of the community who were involved in the farm activities and other social issues to support the nobility and the church in their activities (Bush, 2014). In the tale, the author has evaluated the first category of the church. In the story, medieval women were not allowed to take part in such spiritual activities. The position of the clergy was made by the males who were charged with carrying out religious activities on behalf of the rest of the society. However, after proving oneself in two lower groups, the women were allowed to join the church either willingly or by invitation. The wife of bath battles the church when she argues that even God has no right condemning her for her actions. Moreover, she argues that her marriage to many men was in line with the laws of God to fill the earth. The church has therefore been undermined by her comments and her views. Moreover, her persistent nagging of the men has been against the provisions of the church. According to the clergy, at the time, women have no position above their husband. However, the woman of bath is seen to gain control over her husbands to have power and the right to do what she wants. This has been depicted as a challenge to the church that identifies the man as the leader of the family and not the woman. Furthermore, her view of the virtue of virginity has undermined the church that preached about chastity and the need to remain close to God through purity. The wife of bath sleeps around with many men and that is against the provisions of the church and the clergy. It has therefore resulted in the demeaning of the church and the virtues that the clergy holds so dearly (Eaton, 2015). The nobility has also been illustrated by the actions of the Knight. The knight rapes one of the maidens in the king’s house and that results in the king’s desire to condemn him to death. However, through the mercies of the Queen, the Knight is given the chance to redeem himself by being sent on a mission to find out what exactly women in marriage desire the most. The knight is conferred with one year and one day to carry out his mission and report back to the queen with the answer. The Knight travels and questions many women but the responses he gets do not please him. When he nears his return to the queen’s palace, he is afraid he has not found the right answer for the queen, and he faces the chances of beheading. However, on his route back to the palace he sees a beautiful maidens ahead of him but on nearing her, she disappears and transforms into an old maiden. She vows to give him the right answer if only they can strike a deal and he agrees to give whatever she asks of him. Once he takes the response to the queen, the queen is pleased with him and his life is spared (Reynolds, 2013). On the other hand, the old woman appears and makes a claim for his hand in marriage to honor the agreement that they had made. The knight is displeased with the demand, but he is forced to acknowledge it. The woman eventually turns into a beautiful woman, and they live happily ever after. The Knight has been depicted as uncultured at the beginning by raping the maiden. However, when offered a chance to redeem himself, he accepts and eventually can be said to be honorable by agreeing to marry the old maiden. His actions have also been used to show the kind of punishment that knights are conferred with when they breach the law that they have themselves sworn to protect (Bush, 2014). The peasantry has also been evaluated in the tale. They have been presented as weak and submissive. The other women in the society apart from the wife of bath have allowed the society to dictate the kind of lives that they lead and are so submissive. The role of the women in the society has been restricted to overseeing the actions of their husband and family and the education of such people is limited. The women have little said on political and religious issues, and are not liberated, as is the case with the wife of bath. The continued beating of the women in the tale by their husbands has also presented their role as lowly in the society and therefore the need to strengthen them and ensure that their voice in the community is respected (Miller, 2014). Task 3 One of the themes that have been explored in the tale is the medieval world system. During the period, the life of the people was very difficult and it was about the survival of the fittest. There are several illustrations from the novel that have helped depict the nature of the medieval system. The medieval system has been explored in the tale by the kingship system that was practiced. There was a king at the time of the wife of bath called Arthur, as well as a queen (Burns, 2012). Moreover, the mode of life in the tale of the wife of birth is also similar to that of the medieval system. The women in the society are portrayed as submissive with their only place in the society being the homesteads where they looked after the needs of their children and husbands. Also, the education system has helped to explore the nature of the medieval system’s theme. The women in the society were not allowed to attend colleges and were only schooled to gain the requisite knowledge on housework. It is, therefore, a perfect example of the kind of life that people in the society at the time led. Moreover, the theme has been explored by the views that people had on virginity at the time. Women were expected to retain their virginity and dignity until such a time when they were married. Moreover, the wife of bath is criticized when she marries five husbands. Although this was not against the provisions of the culture at the time, her behavior was entirely different to that of the other women. The role of the Knights in the society has also been used to develop this theme. The Knights have a responsibility to protect the other members of the community and any action that they did contrary to their expectations resulted in beheading (Nicholas, 2014). The existence of spirits and supernatural beings has also helped enhance the theme. As the knight approached the palace, he reckons seeing several beautiful maidens before their sudden disappearance. The existence and belief in spirits were common in the medieval period, and thus its inclusion in the table has helped explore the theme although the supernatural beings conflicts with the views of the clergy at the time of the medieval world system. The story also explores the ideas that people had about old age. After the wife of bath had helped the knight to accomplish his role as given by the queen, she asks to marry him. Nevertheless, the knight is repulsive at the idea of marrying an old man who he cannot even dare to kiss. The theme has therefore been expended on the basis that medieval men were conscious about the choices they made about their wives. The age of the woman was, therefore, an important factor for consideration before embarking on marriage. The knight was reluctant to marry the woman by eventually agreed out of honor. Moreover, it is said that before the wedding could take place, the old lady turned into a beautiful young lady. The idea of transformation from old age to young age has also been used to show that the medieval people were superstitious. It is only through belief in spirits and superstitions that such transformation is possible (Miller, 2014). The actions of the wife of bath, however, undermine this theme. She was frequently nagging her husband that is against the practices in the medieval period. Women were expected to be submissive to their husband and their role in the society in the period was only overseeing the happiness of their family members. However, the wife of bath has been depicted as resistant, independent, bold and liberated. Also, the actions of the Knight have undermined the practices that the knights in the medieval period carried out. When he raped the maiden, he threatened the nature of the society in the medieval age. Besides, the role that women played during the medieval period has also been evaluated as seen by the involvement of the Queen in the pardon procedure of the knight who had committed a felony by raping the maiden (Cook & Herzman, 2012). The mode of dressing of the wife of bath at the time as described by the tale has also undermined the theme. In her dressing, she has been depicted as uncultured and unacceptable at the time. In the medieval period, it is believed that the women at the time dressed decently and scanty dressing was not only unacceptable but also unheard of. However, she goes ahead to undermine the medieval world system by her improve behavior in dressing especially in public. The medieval period has also been threatened by the actions of the husband of the wife of Bath who beats her yet she is just a woman in the society. The depiction of the women as financially motivated through the marriage of convenience to get the financial assistance from a man has also undermined the medieval age (Burns; 2012). References Burns, R. I. (Ed.). (2012). Las Siete Partidas, Volume 3: The Medieval World of Law: Lawyers and Their Work (Partida III). University of Pennsylvania Press Bush, M. L. (2014). Social orders and social classes in Europe since 1500: studies in social stratification. Routledge Chaucer, G. (2012). The wife of Bath. Start Publishing LLC. Clarke, D. L. (Ed.). (2014). Models in archaeology (Vol. 14). Routledge. Crane, S. (2014). Gender and Romance in Chaucers" Canterbury Tales". Princeton University Press. Cook, W. R., & Herzman, R. B. (2012). The medieval world view: an introduction. OUP Catalogue. Eaton, R. M. (2015). The Sufis of Bijapur, 1300-1700: Social Roles of Sufis in Medieval India. Princeton University Press. McCarron, M. (2012). The Wife of Bath: Chaucer’s Authorial Control over Alisoun. Second Line-An Undergraduate Journal of Literary Conversation, 2. Miller, C. (2014). Conquest, Empire, Impact, and Context: The Early Islamic Empire in a Medieval World-System (Doctoral dissertation, Mount Holyoke College). Minnis, A. (2013). Fallible Authors: Chaucers Pardoner and Wife of Bath. University of Pennsylvania Press. Nicholas, D. M. (2014). The Evolution of the Medieval World: Society, Government & Thought in Europe 312-1500. Routledge. Reynolds, A. (2013). Judicial culture and social complexity: a general model from Anglo-Saxon England. World Archaeology, 45(5), 699-713. Read More