Comparing Wife Of Bath's Relation To The Old Woman
The Wife of Bath’s Relation to the Old Woman
The character of the Wife of Bath in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales takes a special interest because of her powerful character and points of view at a time when women were meant to be passive and undermined. When reading the Wife of Bath’s prologue and tale, several similarities as well as modifications can be found between the Wife of Bath’s character and the character of the old woman in the tale. Some apparent similarities are how both are depicted physically, their dominance over men, and the similar nature of the Wife’s husbands and the Knight in the tale. Regardless of these similarities, on thing that takes special interest in the tale is that the old woman who is initially described as a “foul-looking creature” becomes a beautiful young woman after her newly wed knight learns to respect her (Chaucer 169). …show more content…
She’s described as emotionally and physically strong, experienced in the realm of marriage, and aged but not like the old woman. In the tale, the old hag is seen describing herself as “I may be foul, I may be poor and old” which is something the Wife of Bath is not for the most part but she is described as “handsome” which can be interpreted as not very attractive for a lady (Chaucer 177; Chaucer 122). While the age of the old woman makes her look wise and experienced, the Wife of Bath’s five marriages, her previous travels, and her use of quoting from the Bible make her also seem experienced (Chaucer 177; Librarius). Due to these similarities, it is evident that the Wife of Bath relates herself to character of the old
The character of the Wife of Bath in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales takes a special interest because of her powerful character and points of view at a time when women were meant to be passive and undermined. When reading the Wife of Bath’s prologue and tale, several similarities as well as modifications can be found between the Wife of Bath’s character and the character of the old woman in the tale. Some apparent similarities are how both are depicted physically, their dominance over men, and the similar nature of the Wife’s husbands and the Knight in the tale. Regardless of these similarities, on thing that takes special interest in the tale is that the old woman who is initially described as a “foul-looking creature” becomes a beautiful young woman after her newly wed knight learns to respect her (Chaucer 169). …show more content…
She’s described as emotionally and physically strong, experienced in the realm of marriage, and aged but not like the old woman. In the tale, the old hag is seen describing herself as “I may be foul, I may be poor and old” which is something the Wife of Bath is not for the most part but she is described as “handsome” which can be interpreted as not very attractive for a lady (Chaucer 177; Chaucer 122). While the age of the old woman makes her look wise and experienced, the Wife of Bath’s five marriages, her previous travels, and her use of quoting from the Bible make her also seem experienced (Chaucer 177; Librarius). Due to these similarities, it is evident that the Wife of Bath relates herself to character of the old