Contradictions In The Wife Of Bath's Tale
Jennifer Kane
Mayberry
ENG 210
11/4/2013
The Presence and Contradictions of Feminism in The Wife of Bath’s Tale
The Wife of Bath’s Tale, a narrative by Geoffrey Chaucer depicted in his classic Canterbury Tales is a story that allows an individual reader to interpret its intended theme and purpose. Scholars have debated the position of Chaucer, as well as the positions of his main character, The Wife of Bath. Still, Chaucer uses an extended prologue and tale in an attempt to tell her story and to present her argument which involves claims of femininity and sovereignty. Although there is no solid critical consenting viewpoint of either the Wife of Bath or Chaucer himself, both motifs are present throughout the text, and it remains up to the reader to scrutinize what the text is trying to convey. In analyzing the controversial Wife of Bath’s Tale and prologue I determined that there were conflicting ideas, yet the …show more content…
“Whanne saugh ye ever in any manere age,/That hye God defended marriage/By expres word? I pray you, telleth me,/Or wehre commanded he virginitee?” (Prologue 65-69). Here, The Wife of Bath questions what god truly means in these scriptures and where it is within the bible that God forbids multiple marriages and condones virginity. In doing so, it would seem that she does not have the original and plain experience needed to make the argument that she previously claimed. Instead, she combats the argument used by the clergy against her argument of the acceptance of sexual promiscuity. This contradiction, makes the Wife of Bath seem less credible, and therefore less powerful in the eyes of her readers. Having power is something that the Wife of Bath holds as an important factor in her pro-feminist argument, and in this case that was not
Mayberry
ENG 210
11/4/2013
The Presence and Contradictions of Feminism in The Wife of Bath’s Tale
The Wife of Bath’s Tale, a narrative by Geoffrey Chaucer depicted in his classic Canterbury Tales is a story that allows an individual reader to interpret its intended theme and purpose. Scholars have debated the position of Chaucer, as well as the positions of his main character, The Wife of Bath. Still, Chaucer uses an extended prologue and tale in an attempt to tell her story and to present her argument which involves claims of femininity and sovereignty. Although there is no solid critical consenting viewpoint of either the Wife of Bath or Chaucer himself, both motifs are present throughout the text, and it remains up to the reader to scrutinize what the text is trying to convey. In analyzing the controversial Wife of Bath’s Tale and prologue I determined that there were conflicting ideas, yet the …show more content…
“Whanne saugh ye ever in any manere age,/That hye God defended marriage/By expres word? I pray you, telleth me,/Or wehre commanded he virginitee?” (Prologue 65-69). Here, The Wife of Bath questions what god truly means in these scriptures and where it is within the bible that God forbids multiple marriages and condones virginity. In doing so, it would seem that she does not have the original and plain experience needed to make the argument that she previously claimed. Instead, she combats the argument used by the clergy against her argument of the acceptance of sexual promiscuity. This contradiction, makes the Wife of Bath seem less credible, and therefore less powerful in the eyes of her readers. Having power is something that the Wife of Bath holds as an important factor in her pro-feminist argument, and in this case that was not