1

1. I do not think the Wife really means it when she says please dont be offended at my views;/Theyre really only offered to amuse at the beginning of her Prologue. I think she truly believes her views on marriage are correct. Her purpose in this long speech is to educate the gentlemen on the topic of marriage from her experiences.2. From the Wifes point of view, a good husband should be a slave to his wife, giving up all of his wealth, power and control to her. He should also love his wife well and remain true to her until he dies. She keeps him that way by always making him believe he is wrong and misinformed.3. The Wife went out while her fourth husband was away in London on business to visit Johnny, the boy from Oxford. She was setting things up for her fifth marriage, should her fourth die and she become a widow again. I think she is currently traveling to Canterbury for the same reason, and that is to look for her next husband.

4. The fifth husbands book takes the view that women are wicked, are the cause of distress for all mankind, and cause nothing but problems for men. The book argues its cause by saying that Eves wickedness brought distress and sorrow to all mankind and was the cause of Jesus death, by saying how a woman betrayed Sampson by cutting his hair and causing him to go blind, and by saying that a woman tricked Hercules into setting himself on fire. The Wife defeats the book by tearing out three pages of the book, and struggling with the husband, who in turn, fell into the fire. In his rage, he hit her, and she was badly hurt. She manipulated him into believing he almost killed her, and he swore he would never hit her again. He then gave her all of his wealth and power to make amends, and she made him burn the book. 5. The story the Wife tells fits her personality and attitude in the answer to the question of what women most desire. The answer was that women want power over their husbands, to be his master and be above him, which were the Wifes exact views on marriage. In addition, the knights solution to the problem of his old wife was for her to choose what he should do, which was also the Wifes view of being the master and in control of the marriage.6. The old woman speaks as if she was the Wife of Bath when she says And have I won the mastery in line 316, and may Christ Jesus send/Us husbands meek and young and fresh in bed in lines 338-339, And grace to overbid them when we wed in line 340, and cut short the lives/ Of those who wont be governed by their wives in lines 341-342.7. I find myself more inclined to dislike the Wife of Bath because she is very controlling and manipulative. She is only interested in obtaining wealth and power over her husbands. She is self centered and doesnt care about anyone but herself.