OPPapers.com Essay Index >> English >> Chaucer\'S Wife Of Bath
We have many free term papers and essays on Chaucer\'S Wife Of Bath. We also have a wide variety of research papers and book reports available to you for free. You can browse our collection of term papers or use our search engine.
Submitted by ryan85 on May 4, 2006
Category: English
Words: 1658 | Pages: 7
Views: 180
Popularity Rank: 59,067
Average Member Grade: N/A (Add a Comment / Grade this Paper)
Chaucer Tales
Chaucer included “The Wife of Bath” for many reasons. First and most obvious is for her humor. Alisoun, the wife of Bath, was very lively, colorful, and sometimes rather dirty. Chaucer not only used her humor to help tell the story but also even to help set up the other characters and their stories, such as the friar and the pardoner. Chaucer wanted to portray women differently than they were viewed in his era. He wanted women to be seen as intelligent, powerful, and dominant, not only in everyday affairs and relationships but sexually as well. Chaucer also wanted to discuss marriage, and how people of his time thought the sacrament should be sacred. Also he wanted to discuss domestic violence, maybe so men would view their wives differently. He wanted men to see that not always arguing, yet giving women mastery of them was easiest and best for all, or at least according to the wife of Bath.
Chaucer was very particular for all the characters but especially with the Wife of Bath. He was very elaborative with every aspect of her, and wrote much more about her in the prologue than any one of the other characters. Chaucer pointed out many different aspects about her, such as her good qualities, “Of clooth-making she hadde swiche an haunt she passed hem of Ypres and of Gaunt. . . She was a worthy womman al hir lyve.” Yet he also pointed out a few less becoming facts very nonchalantly, “I dorste swere they weyeden ten pound that on a Sonday were upon hir lyve. . . Housbondes at chirche-dore she hadde fyve, withouten other companye in youthe.”1 It seems as though Chaucer was trying to present her as humanly yet still very likeably as possible. She was not perfect, was a tad bit gaudy, maybe had too much fun, but was very friendly, good at her craft, and very devoted to God. As I said Chaucer devoted much more time
1. Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. “The Prologe” ln. 449-463.
on telling us about...
You must Login to view the entire paper.
If you are not a member yet, Sign Up for free!