Show, with close reference to the text, how the Wife reveals her true
character through her descriptive language and her actions in the
prologue.
In Chaucer’s “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale”, the poet portrays
the titular character as a bold figure who frequently defies the mediaeval
expectations of women in this era. Chaucer does not display the Wife as a
principled paragon, but neither does he condemn her as a moral disgrace. In
this way, Chaucer challenges the contemporary understanding of women, their
thoughts, and their desires, as well as examining the role of morality in identity
during the Middle Ages.
The Wife of Bath is a complex character who seems to contradict
herself- at times admitting wrongdoing, and at others avoiding guilt. This
contrast is evident in the differences between the Wife’s intentional public
persona, and the aspects of her private character which she accidentally
reveals in the prologue. For example, the Wife actively portrays herself as a
sexual character by boasting of her marriages, explaining “Yblessed be God
that I have wedded five!”. The religious praise associated with her marriages
highlights how the Wife does not perceive sex and religion to be in conflict.
Chaucer uses the Wife’s multiple marriages as a constant recurring theme in
her prologue, with the Wife frequently emphasising the number of her
marriages through repetition. In this way, Chaucer portrays the Wife as
shameless, since she refutes the Church’s teachings on sex and remarriage.
Furthermore, Chaucer implies that the Wife engaged in sexual activities
before marriage, as “Husboundes at chirche dore she hadde five, / Withouten
oother compaignye in youthe”. This emphasises the protagonist’s sexual
experience.
The Wife is a morally self-righteous character, seen in how she defends
her hypersexual traits (particularly against the Church). She achieves this
, through a series of biblical exempla, such as “the wise king, daun Salomon…
Which yifte of God hadde he for alle his wives!”. Chaucer uses the metaphor
to demonstrate to the reader how the Wife views her sexuality as a religious
calling. This highlights her ability to “glossen” as well as the Church,
showcasing her intelligence and cunning. She continues to undermine
society’s condemnation of sexual activity by following with “What rekketh me,
though folk seye vileynie, / Of shrewed Lameth and his bigamie? / I woot wel
Abraham was an hooly man, / And Jacob eek”. The extended list criticises
what the Wife views as hypocrisy from the Church. She highlights the double
standard in regards to sexuality, where women are invariably held to chastity.
The use of a rhetorical question underlines the performative aspect to the
Wife’s monologue, displaying her attempt to gain the favour of her fellow
pilgrims. The use of long, multi-clausal sentences increases the pace of the
poem, highlighting how the Wife prevents her audience from interrupting or
correcting her. This accentuates her sense of charm and persuasiveness.
The Wife uses this charm extensively, especially to maintain the ear of
her audience when she reveals herself to be increasingly morally ambiguous
as the prologue progresses. For example, she confesses her own callousness
in how she treated her first three husbands. She admits “This is to seyn,
myself have been the whippe”, with the metaphor revealing to the reader both
her ability and her willingness to inflict pain. The use of caesura slows the
rhythm to accentuate the assertive tone used by the Wife. This suggests a
lack of shame in her treatment of her husbands, contradicting any previous
implications that she is using her prologue as a confession. This is supported
by further description of her first three marriages, with the Wife recalling “How
pitiously a-night I made hem swinke!”. The emotive language implies to the
reader that the husbands were weak and timid. This is in sharp contrast to the
Wife’s vitality and power, which is indicated by the exclamation. This contrast
underlines the Wife’s tendency to subvert gender roles to become the
dominant half of her sexual relationships. In this way, Chaucer expresses
character through her descriptive language and her actions in the
prologue.
In Chaucer’s “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale”, the poet portrays
the titular character as a bold figure who frequently defies the mediaeval
expectations of women in this era. Chaucer does not display the Wife as a
principled paragon, but neither does he condemn her as a moral disgrace. In
this way, Chaucer challenges the contemporary understanding of women, their
thoughts, and their desires, as well as examining the role of morality in identity
during the Middle Ages.
The Wife of Bath is a complex character who seems to contradict
herself- at times admitting wrongdoing, and at others avoiding guilt. This
contrast is evident in the differences between the Wife’s intentional public
persona, and the aspects of her private character which she accidentally
reveals in the prologue. For example, the Wife actively portrays herself as a
sexual character by boasting of her marriages, explaining “Yblessed be God
that I have wedded five!”. The religious praise associated with her marriages
highlights how the Wife does not perceive sex and religion to be in conflict.
Chaucer uses the Wife’s multiple marriages as a constant recurring theme in
her prologue, with the Wife frequently emphasising the number of her
marriages through repetition. In this way, Chaucer portrays the Wife as
shameless, since she refutes the Church’s teachings on sex and remarriage.
Furthermore, Chaucer implies that the Wife engaged in sexual activities
before marriage, as “Husboundes at chirche dore she hadde five, / Withouten
oother compaignye in youthe”. This emphasises the protagonist’s sexual
experience.
The Wife is a morally self-righteous character, seen in how she defends
her hypersexual traits (particularly against the Church). She achieves this
, through a series of biblical exempla, such as “the wise king, daun Salomon…
Which yifte of God hadde he for alle his wives!”. Chaucer uses the metaphor
to demonstrate to the reader how the Wife views her sexuality as a religious
calling. This highlights her ability to “glossen” as well as the Church,
showcasing her intelligence and cunning. She continues to undermine
society’s condemnation of sexual activity by following with “What rekketh me,
though folk seye vileynie, / Of shrewed Lameth and his bigamie? / I woot wel
Abraham was an hooly man, / And Jacob eek”. The extended list criticises
what the Wife views as hypocrisy from the Church. She highlights the double
standard in regards to sexuality, where women are invariably held to chastity.
The use of a rhetorical question underlines the performative aspect to the
Wife’s monologue, displaying her attempt to gain the favour of her fellow
pilgrims. The use of long, multi-clausal sentences increases the pace of the
poem, highlighting how the Wife prevents her audience from interrupting or
correcting her. This accentuates her sense of charm and persuasiveness.
The Wife uses this charm extensively, especially to maintain the ear of
her audience when she reveals herself to be increasingly morally ambiguous
as the prologue progresses. For example, she confesses her own callousness
in how she treated her first three husbands. She admits “This is to seyn,
myself have been the whippe”, with the metaphor revealing to the reader both
her ability and her willingness to inflict pain. The use of caesura slows the
rhythm to accentuate the assertive tone used by the Wife. This suggests a
lack of shame in her treatment of her husbands, contradicting any previous
implications that she is using her prologue as a confession. This is supported
by further description of her first three marriages, with the Wife recalling “How
pitiously a-night I made hem swinke!”. The emotive language implies to the
reader that the husbands were weak and timid. This is in sharp contrast to the
Wife’s vitality and power, which is indicated by the exclamation. This contrast
underlines the Wife’s tendency to subvert gender roles to become the
dominant half of her sexual relationships. In this way, Chaucer expresses
