The Wife of BathChaucer’s Challenge of Gender Roles

My Proposal

I propose to do my final assignment on the challenging of gender roles that is continuously shown throughout The Wife of Bath’s Tale. I will compare what was an acceptable role of women in this era versus the strong, outspoken points of view displayed by The Wife of Bath. Chaucer tests his audience by reveling in the character, The Wife of Bath, expanding their limits on what they view as acceptable behavior by a woman and encouraging open-mindedness and equality with the sexes.

I shall do this by:

• Providing my audience with a general overview/summary of The Wife of Bath’s Tale.

• Give a brief background on Chaucer’s history of who he grew up and whom he socialized with.

• Specify cultural accepted norms for women of the period, to include sexual inequality.

• Provide details of how The Wife of Bath refutes these Christian piousness ideals.

• Conclude comparisons and analysis

• Show “Works Cited” page

Wife BeatingLe Roman de la Rose.

Bibliothèque St. Geneviève, Paris (Jokinen).

Overview of the Wife of Bath

• She has been married five times and now considers herself and expert on the institution of matrimony.

• Interprets the Bible differently than the mainstream; asserts that woman are the dominant sex.

• Her tale tells of a knight whom commits rape, is sentenced by the Queen to answer the question of what women want. He is tricked into marrying a hag who ends up being a young maiden but he doesn’t see this until he admits defeat and her sovereignty over him.

Overview of the Wife of Bath (cont)

• Her tale of the knight represents her beliefs that if men would only realize that women should be in power.

• She tells her tale to anyone who will listen and backs up her claims with biblical examples.

The Wife of BathEllesmere Manuscript

Hunting Library (Jokien)

Chaucer through his artistic contribution of The Wife of Bath gives us a brilliant example of a woman whom tradition, religion and society

could not force into the mold of medieval societal expectations. She was determined to be seen, to be heard and to live her life according to her

interpretation of the Bible. While many people try to analyze her behavior and choices through a feministic point of view, the feminine movement

as we know it was not present in the 13th century therefore she was a stand-alone character; one quintessential to exposing the bigotry and sexism

that was deemed an acceptable way of life for the majority of women in many medieval societies. While class and vocation had much to do with

what was expected for and from a woman, for the most part subservience, piety and domesticity was the norm. Philip of Novare urged that women

not be taught to read and write, since this knowledge would expose them to sin, especially illicit communications with lovers. He recommended

instead that girls be kept busy with weaving and spinning so that they would not be idle (Stoertz 28).

In creating the Wife of Bath, Chaucer drew upon a centuries-old tradition of misogynist writing that was particularly nurtured by the

medieval church. In their conviction that the rational, intellectual, spiritual, and, therefore, higher side of human nature predominated in men,

whereas the irrational, material, earthly, and, therefore, lower side of human nature predominated in women, St. Paul and the early Church fathers

exalted celibacy and virginity above marriage, although they were also obliged to concede the necessity and sanctimony of marriage (Greenblatt

282). The Wife most definitely did not accept this view of women; she wanted her views and experiences to be heard, and she was going to tell

anyone predisposed to listening…“she herself is a creation of speech, and speech – its perpetual use and frequent abuse – is a very

dominant element in her life” (Storm 307).

The acquiescence of women can be found in multiple texts, quite plainly describing the patriarchal society’s views of women, their roles

and the lack of importance of their feelings and/or opinions. As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the

churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask

their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church (The Holy Bible, 1 Corinthians 14:34-35).

Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am. But if they cannot control themselves they

should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion (The Holy Bible 1 Corinthians 7 8:9). The Wife construed multiple texts and

lessons in the Bible to benefit herself; she did not take them as such black and white messages. She married all the men she slept with,

understood her passions and needs and effectively directed them towards relationships that she deemed beneficial. Alison makes much of the

fact that her husbands were much older than she, and she refers pointedly to the resulting effects on the marital relationship when she speaks of

her husbands who can only with difficulty “the statue holde” (198) and pay the marital debt (Storm 306).

Alyson justifies her marriages by using biblical examples of polygamy such as Solomon, Abraham and Jacob. She completely accepts

that

that she is not on a level of virginity or innocence as many others “Yit lived they evere in parfit chastitee./I nil envye no virginitee:/ Lat hem

be breed of pured whete seed,/And lat us wives hote barly breed” (Chaucer 147-150) but asserts that she is still living in accordance with God’s

law all her marriages were legitimate and binding as they performed by men of God.

Societal status was very important in medieval times; if you were a higher class person then you were smarter, attractive, had more freedoms

and went places that peasants were not allowed. By Alyson marrying these richer, older men she was ensuring her place in the social order; for

many women marriage was the only option to better themselves and safeguard a life of security and possibilities and this was all they were taught.

Marriage plans influenced girls' early education, place of residence, and treatment (Stoertz 22). Virginity and purity were of the utmost

importance. Women in particular had to be mindful of their reputations (Goldberg 20).

The Wife of BathMS Cambridge GG.4.27 (Jokien)

Works Cited

Arnell, Carla. "Chaucer's Wife Of Bath And John Fowles's Quaker Maid: Tale-Telling And The Trial Of Personal Experience And

Written Authority." Modern Language Review 102.4 (2007): 933-946. Academic Search Complete. Web. 17 Oct. 2013.

Chaucer, Geoffrey. “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Middle Ages. Vol A. Ed.

Steven Greenblatt. New York:W. W. Norton & Company, 2012. 282-310. Print.

Greenblatt, Steven. Introduction. The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale. By Geoffrey Chaucer. 2012. Vol A. New York:W. W. Norton

& Company, 2012. 282. Print.

Goldberg, Jeremy. "The Right To Choose." History Today 59.2 (2008): 16-21. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.

Hilton, Rodney H. "Women Traders In Medieval England." Women's Studies 11.1/2 (1984): 139. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 22

Oct. 2013.

Works Cited (page 2)

Jokinen, Anniina. "Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale in Images." Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature. n.p., 30 Aug

2012. Web. 18 Oct 2013.

Stoertz, Fiona Harris. "Young Women In France And England, 1050-1300." Journal Of Women's History 12.4 (n.d.): 22.

SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.

Storm, Melvin. "Uxor And Alison: Noah's Wife In The Flood Plays And Chaucer's Wife Of Bath." Modern Language Quarterly

48.4 (1987): 303. Academic Search Complete. Web. 17 Oct. 2013.

The Holy Bible, New International Version. Colorado: International Bible Society, 1984. Print.

Katy Perry. “Roar.” Prism. Capital Records. 2013. CD.