Wife of Bath’s Prologue summary and analysis
o W’s discussion on marriage- 3 components:
Theoretical arguments about marriage, its nature and purpose and issue of multiple marriages.
Practical experience.
Exemplum in form of her tale.
Multiple marriages and chastity
Lines 1-163
o Opening word ‘experience’- direct challenge to traditional/male-dominated authority of medieval Church.
Asserts value of her own judgements in highly modern manner.
Forceful tone- scathing attack on marriage.
o Focus of attack- no. times she can legitimately marry.
o Parody of a sermon:
Similar devices of authoritative sermon- clear point to expound, cites bible for authority/justify her view.
Formal diction e.g. ‘lordynges’.
o Ironic- claims doesn’t need ‘auctoritees’ but uses them at length to defend her right to multiple marriages.
o ‘Wo that is in marriage’- irony as it is the pain she has inflicted on husbands.
o Dichotomy = practical v textual authority.
Married 5x- experience.
Subverts medieval notions of male power- W boldly places her subjective experience on equal footing with
interpretations of male scholars.
o ‘twelve yeer’- claims married at 12 (youngest age a female could make a valid marriage).
o Exegesis- uses biblical examples to illustrate her point.
Entertaining/foolish- contemporary readers would have been well versed in Bible stories.
'Cane of Galilee’- Jesus went to 1 wedding- should only marry once- misinterprets.
‘Samaritan’.
‘Wexe and multiplye’- Genesis- Christian belief in procreative function of marriage.
W takes this command too literally- licensed unlimited pleasure of physical desire.
Irony/humour- highlights medieval Church’s unrealistic expectations.
‘Salomon’ Parody- playful adopture of scripture.
‘Wyves mo than oon’- humorous understatement.
‘Refresshed half so ofte as he!’- exclamation-bawdy euphemism- sexual gratification- passion for
sex/boldly open about her sexual desire.
Solomon’s profusion of wives caused him to turn his heart away from God- W’s wish to follow-
ironically condemns her own behaviour twice over with this single biblical reference.
Audience would know Solomon’s behav led to punishment not praise.
‘Lameth and Abraham’- more than 1 wife- uses example to support her opinion on multiple marriages.
Clear from these e.g.’s W is unreliable narrator- highly selective and seems to misread/understand what
Bible says.
Gap between W’s apparent limited understanding and breadth of reference- C’s sophisticated learning
evident.
o ‘I wol nate kepe me chaast’- defiant of expectations.
Anti-feminism- stereotypical flaw of womanhood or impressively forceful female voice?
o Inconsistency- digressions/colloquial and formal- shifting registers- diversity of pilgrim listeners? Or entertaining.
o Rhyming couplet ‘free/me’- independence.
o ‘commandement’ v ‘owne juggement’- binary opposition- order v opinion.
Semantic field of command/order v practical experience.
Reduces St Paul’s work down to nothing more than mere advice ‘conseillyng is no commandment’.
Only advised virginity- didn’t order.
Audience would be aware of Wyclif’s challenge to church- he translated Bible so ordinary people could
understand.
o Iambic pentameter- stresses certain words e.g. ‘gon’ ‘wedde’ ‘I’ ‘free’.
Disturbs ‘whan myn’- trochaic inversion of iambic pattern- ‘whan’ has stronger stress than ‘myn’- alerts
listeners to change.
o W’s discussion on marriage- 3 components:
Theoretical arguments about marriage, its nature and purpose and issue of multiple marriages.
Practical experience.
Exemplum in form of her tale.
Multiple marriages and chastity
Lines 1-163
o Opening word ‘experience’- direct challenge to traditional/male-dominated authority of medieval Church.
Asserts value of her own judgements in highly modern manner.
Forceful tone- scathing attack on marriage.
o Focus of attack- no. times she can legitimately marry.
o Parody of a sermon:
Similar devices of authoritative sermon- clear point to expound, cites bible for authority/justify her view.
Formal diction e.g. ‘lordynges’.
o Ironic- claims doesn’t need ‘auctoritees’ but uses them at length to defend her right to multiple marriages.
o ‘Wo that is in marriage’- irony as it is the pain she has inflicted on husbands.
o Dichotomy = practical v textual authority.
Married 5x- experience.
Subverts medieval notions of male power- W boldly places her subjective experience on equal footing with
interpretations of male scholars.
o ‘twelve yeer’- claims married at 12 (youngest age a female could make a valid marriage).
o Exegesis- uses biblical examples to illustrate her point.
Entertaining/foolish- contemporary readers would have been well versed in Bible stories.
'Cane of Galilee’- Jesus went to 1 wedding- should only marry once- misinterprets.
‘Samaritan’.
‘Wexe and multiplye’- Genesis- Christian belief in procreative function of marriage.
W takes this command too literally- licensed unlimited pleasure of physical desire.
Irony/humour- highlights medieval Church’s unrealistic expectations.
‘Salomon’ Parody- playful adopture of scripture.
‘Wyves mo than oon’- humorous understatement.
‘Refresshed half so ofte as he!’- exclamation-bawdy euphemism- sexual gratification- passion for
sex/boldly open about her sexual desire.
Solomon’s profusion of wives caused him to turn his heart away from God- W’s wish to follow-
ironically condemns her own behaviour twice over with this single biblical reference.
Audience would know Solomon’s behav led to punishment not praise.
‘Lameth and Abraham’- more than 1 wife- uses example to support her opinion on multiple marriages.
Clear from these e.g.’s W is unreliable narrator- highly selective and seems to misread/understand what
Bible says.
Gap between W’s apparent limited understanding and breadth of reference- C’s sophisticated learning
evident.
o ‘I wol nate kepe me chaast’- defiant of expectations.
Anti-feminism- stereotypical flaw of womanhood or impressively forceful female voice?
o Inconsistency- digressions/colloquial and formal- shifting registers- diversity of pilgrim listeners? Or entertaining.
o Rhyming couplet ‘free/me’- independence.
o ‘commandement’ v ‘owne juggement’- binary opposition- order v opinion.
Semantic field of command/order v practical experience.
Reduces St Paul’s work down to nothing more than mere advice ‘conseillyng is no commandment’.
Only advised virginity- didn’t order.
Audience would be aware of Wyclif’s challenge to church- he translated Bible so ordinary people could
understand.
o Iambic pentameter- stresses certain words e.g. ‘gon’ ‘wedde’ ‘I’ ‘free’.
Disturbs ‘whan myn’- trochaic inversion of iambic pattern- ‘whan’ has stronger stress than ‘myn’- alerts
listeners to change.
