The Wife of Bath’s Tale

Theme: the empowerment of women Title: ”The Wife of Bath’s Tale” Author: Chaucer Narrator: the Wife of Bath Protagonist: the knight Genre: Breton lai Conflict: Man vs. Society Theme: the empowerment of women Setting: During the reign of King Arthur in England

Quick Response 1. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: a promise should never be broken?  Explain. 2. What is more important in a lover faithfulness or beauty?  You have to pick one, explain your choice.

Quick Response 3. How far would you go to save your life? 4. Do the wealthy live above the law? Explain.

Quick Response 5. Does the class a person comes from make a difference in their character?  Explain. 6. What is the most important factor in a happy marriage?

Genre "The Wife of Bath's Tale" is a Breton lai a short romance that features knights, noble ladies and supernatural incidents.  In the bigger picture, "The Wife of Bath's Tale" is part of the Arthurian romance or quest genre. A protagonist is missing something (the answer to the queen's question) that he must travel near and far to find, encountering trials and tribulations along the way.

Wife of Bath The Wife of Bath is larger than life. With broad hips, a big butt, and a hat as big as a boat, she takes up a lot of space in the pilgrimage and in the poem as a whole.  The Wife believes her numerous lovers and husbands have made her an expert in matters pertaining to love and marriage. Due to her experience and expertise, her tale will be about marriage and its problems.

Medieval Misogyny In the late classical period, many authors wrote treatises about the disadvantages of being married, particularly for men who hoped to have careers as scholars and thinkers. Wives would talk your ear off, preventing you from getting any work done. Wives would demand that you make lots of money to pay for their extravagant lifestyle. They would spill your secrets to anyone who happened to walk by.

Women in Medieval Times It was commonly believed that compared to men, women were… Not as Strong Not as smart Not as morally good It was all because of Eve. Continue to learn why…

Adam and Eve The Medieval church leaders taught that the snake targeted Eve because she was not as strongly committed to God. Also, she was easy to fool and obviously more evil since she gave in to Satan’s temptation. All women were said to be daughters of Eve who shared her weakness .

The Church’s Hierarchy Virgins Widows who don’t remarry Married women “It was felt that God must love virgins most and that married people came a very poor third in his affections.” ---------------------------------------------------------- God Men Women Animals

What Men Say About Women Nature has given women so much power that the law cannot afford to give her more. – Samuel Johnson No trust is to be placed in women. – Homer A woman, a spaniel, and a walnut tree, The more they’re beaten, the better they be. - Thomas Fuller Can you recall a woman who ever showed you with pride her library? – Benjamin Decasseres

What Men Say About Women Girls began to talk and to stand on their feet sooner than boys because weeds always grow up more quickly than crops. – Martin Luther A very little wit is valued in a woman, as we are pleased with few words spoken plain by a parrot. – Jonathan Swift " In childhood a woman must be subject to her father: in youth to her husband: when her husband is dead, to her sons. A woman must never be free of subjugation. – The Code of Manu

Overview: Prologue and Tale In Part 1, the Wife defends marriage (as opposed to virginity) In Part 2, the Wife describes her married life In Part 3, the Wife describes her final husband Jankyn and their arguments over the “Book of Wicked Wives” In the Tale itself, the Wife tells us of a rapist knight who must answer a riddle to save his life: What is it that women most desire?

The Wife of Bath’s Prologue This autobiography, or confessional, fills the readers (and her fellow pilgrims) in on the Wife of Bath’s life before her tale begins. The Wife of Bath first marries at age twelve. She has four more husbands later in her life and tells briefly of her experiences throughout these five marriages.

The Wife of Bath’s Prologue Dame Alice's justification of her attitudes toward sex and marriage (Lines 1-198) Lines 26-50 “God bade us to increase and multiply” Lines 65-78 “A woman may be counseled to be pure, but counsel and commandment aren’t the same.” Lines 111-134 [Speaking of reproductive organs] “I mean to say that they were made for both-- That is, both for relief and for our ease To procreate, so God we not displease.” Lines 145-156 “I will have the power all my life Over his body, I and never he.”

The Wife of Bath’s Prologue Lines 199-222: The first three husbands were "goode, and riche, and olde" (203) Lines 225-29: Alice likes her first three husbands because they were easy to dominate and control Alice got what she wanted from her husbands: money, possessions, love, sexual satisfaction. She did so by falsely accusing them of cheating on her or lying about their behavior when they were drunk.

The Wife of Bath’s Prologue Dame Alice's Fourth and Fifth Marriage (Lines 459-834) Fourth husband kept a mistress – she wept “crocodile tears” at his funeral. The fifth husband, Janekin, is the only husband Alice married for love, not for money Dame Alice struggles to gain dominance over Janekin He forces her to listen as he reads from “The Book of Bad Wives” They come to blows – she is deaf in one ear.

Let’s review “The Pardoner’s Tale.” Open your book to page 137.