WIFE OF BATH ESSAY PLANS
MARRIAGE - Lines 194-210 + lines 371-394
THESIS
- In Chaucer’s ‘The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale’, he explores notions of marriage
through the rst person narrative of Alison who utilises her de ance from marriage
expectations to challenge the church and it’s hypocrisy. In lines 194-210 and lines
371-394, Chaucer’s construct of the wife of bath evidently portrays marriage in a
negative light, instead of love and unity exercised in the church, she instead takes
advantage of her marriages by dominating, belittling and acquiring ownership of
transactional property as well as their sexuality.
- Chaucer utilises the Wife as a proto-feminist gure who argues for feminine power and
agency, undermining the patriarchy, speci cally the church, throughout the text.
- Although it could be argued that Alison’s domination over her marriages was a symbol
of feminine strength, it is evident that the cynicism in both passages depict that
Chaucer’s presentation of marriage shows him to perhaps have misogynistic views, as
Alison’s perpetuation of anti-feminist traditions mirrored fourteenth century ideologies
that women were inferior.
LINES 194-210
1. Marriage is presented through the ownership of the wife’s husbands
- “The thre were goode men, and riche, and olde”
- the wife digresses to the story of her ve husbands describing three as ‘goode’ the
ambiguity displays ownership through the commercial merging of all three of them into
the simple adjective ‘goode’ denying them individuality
- She views her husbands negatively as collectables, where perhaps her history with men
depicted her challenge to the church as she indulged in sexual activity with multiple
men instead of maintaining purity expected for femininity in the 14th century
- Their ‘olde’ age is the de ning reason for her ability to dominate them.
- Their submission to the overturning of biologically a xed notions of gender roles could
symbolise the new dynamic she is introducing dominates the time-conditioned religious
powers of the Catholic Church
- their ‘olde’ age also suggests that the only reason she is able to dominate them is due
to their age, and that most people would be able to govern men ‘ which were
bounden’, disregarding ideas that the wife is a powerful gure for being able to
dominate her marriages.
- “Tresoor” explores the notion of transactional imagery, not only does she dominate the
husbands bodies but their land, showing the extremity of her domination.
- She perhaps abides with anti-feminist views as she herself sees marriage as
transactional.
- While she attests that female governance is necessary for peace and a harmonious
relationship, her descriptions of her relationships when she has the mastery do not
suggest a pleasant marital union. She describes the misery she in icts on her husbands
and goes into detail about the numerous tricks she uses to obtain control
2. Marriage is presented negatively through the wife of bath’s manipulative and
objectifying nature towards her husbands
- ‘they had me yeveb hir lond and hir tresor’ exploring transactional imagery acquired
through her manipulative nature
fi fi fi fi fi ffi fi fi fl
MARRIAGE - Lines 194-210 + lines 371-394
THESIS
- In Chaucer’s ‘The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale’, he explores notions of marriage
through the rst person narrative of Alison who utilises her de ance from marriage
expectations to challenge the church and it’s hypocrisy. In lines 194-210 and lines
371-394, Chaucer’s construct of the wife of bath evidently portrays marriage in a
negative light, instead of love and unity exercised in the church, she instead takes
advantage of her marriages by dominating, belittling and acquiring ownership of
transactional property as well as their sexuality.
- Chaucer utilises the Wife as a proto-feminist gure who argues for feminine power and
agency, undermining the patriarchy, speci cally the church, throughout the text.
- Although it could be argued that Alison’s domination over her marriages was a symbol
of feminine strength, it is evident that the cynicism in both passages depict that
Chaucer’s presentation of marriage shows him to perhaps have misogynistic views, as
Alison’s perpetuation of anti-feminist traditions mirrored fourteenth century ideologies
that women were inferior.
LINES 194-210
1. Marriage is presented through the ownership of the wife’s husbands
- “The thre were goode men, and riche, and olde”
- the wife digresses to the story of her ve husbands describing three as ‘goode’ the
ambiguity displays ownership through the commercial merging of all three of them into
the simple adjective ‘goode’ denying them individuality
- She views her husbands negatively as collectables, where perhaps her history with men
depicted her challenge to the church as she indulged in sexual activity with multiple
men instead of maintaining purity expected for femininity in the 14th century
- Their ‘olde’ age is the de ning reason for her ability to dominate them.
- Their submission to the overturning of biologically a xed notions of gender roles could
symbolise the new dynamic she is introducing dominates the time-conditioned religious
powers of the Catholic Church
- their ‘olde’ age also suggests that the only reason she is able to dominate them is due
to their age, and that most people would be able to govern men ‘ which were
bounden’, disregarding ideas that the wife is a powerful gure for being able to
dominate her marriages.
- “Tresoor” explores the notion of transactional imagery, not only does she dominate the
husbands bodies but their land, showing the extremity of her domination.
- She perhaps abides with anti-feminist views as she herself sees marriage as
transactional.
- While she attests that female governance is necessary for peace and a harmonious
relationship, her descriptions of her relationships when she has the mastery do not
suggest a pleasant marital union. She describes the misery she in icts on her husbands
and goes into detail about the numerous tricks she uses to obtain control
2. Marriage is presented negatively through the wife of bath’s manipulative and
objectifying nature towards her husbands
- ‘they had me yeveb hir lond and hir tresor’ exploring transactional imagery acquired
through her manipulative nature
fi fi fi fi fi ffi fi fi fl
