Chaucer's Wife Of Bath

Chaucer Tales

Chaucer included "The Wife of Bath" for many reasons. First and most obvious is for her humor. Alisoun, the wife of Bath, was very lively, colorful, and sometimes rather dirty. Chaucer not only used her humor to help tell the story but also even to help set up the other characters and their stories, such as the friar and the pardoner. Chaucer wanted to portray women differently than they were viewed in his era. He wanted women to be seen as intelligent, powerful, and dominant, not only in everyday affairs and relationships but sexually as well. Chaucer also wanted to discuss marriage, and how people of his time thought the sacrament should be sacred. Also he wanted to discuss domestic violence, maybe so men would view their wives differently. He wanted men to see that not always arguing, yet giving women mastery of them was easiest and best for all, or at least according to the wife of Bath.

Chaucer was very particular for all the characters but especially with the Wife of Bath. He was very elaborative with every aspect of her, and wrote much more about her in the prologue than any one of the other characters. Chaucer pointed out many different aspects about her, such as her good qualities, "Of clooth-making she hadde swiche an haunt she passed hem of Ypres and of Gaunt. . . She was a worthy womman al hir lyve." Yet he also pointed out a few less becoming facts very nonchalantly, "I dorste swere they weyeden ten pound that on a Sonday were upon hir lyve. . . Housbondes at chirche-dore she hadde fyve, withouten other companye in youthe."1 It seems as though Chaucer was trying to present her as humanly yet still very likeably as possible. She was not perfect, was a tad bit gaudy, maybe had too much fun, but was very friendly, good at her craft, and very devoted to God. As I said Chaucer devoted much more time

1. Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. "The Prologe" ln. 449-463.

on telling us about Alisoun, and herself telling us about Alisoun. Chaucer did this because he wanted us to get to know her better, so we could understand where she was coming from and be inclined to side with her views, which one might not always do, especially in her case, such as marriage.

It is mentioned in "The Prologue" and the Wife herself mentions the fact herself that she has been married five times. She avidly points out that she believes that marrying as many times as you want is fine as long as it is through the church. Alisoun says she does not favor Jesus' response to marriage, "'Thou hast y-had fyve housbondes,' qoud He, 'And thilke man, the which that hath now thee, is noght thyn housbond'; thus seyde He certeyn; What that He mente therby, I can nat seyn."2 She chooses to stick to the Old Testament, using Lord Solomon, Lamech, Abraham, and Jacob who all had more than one wife. Alisoun also refers to St. Paul's preachings that it is better to marry than be in sin. Although she rants and rants of all of these examples and scriptures her main argument is that no one person set a specific number on marriage and therefore many marriages should not be treated differently than one marriage. She really did not believe this but was trying to argue this point anyway so that the others would not scorn her. "The Wife has expounded her views at great length and with all imaginable zest. Virginity, which the Church glorifies, is not required of us. Our bodies are given us to use. Let saints be continent if they will. She has no wish to emulate them. Nor does she accept the doctrine that a widow or a widower must not marry again. Where is bigamy forbidden in the Bible, or octogamy either?"3 Even though she did not believe this she still said if the sixth husband to be walked by she would marry him.

2. Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. "The Prologe of the Wyves Tale of Bathe" ln. 17-20.

3. Kittredge, George L. "Chaucer's Discussion of Marriage." .

In her prologue she talks about her different husbands, "Housbondes at chirche dore I have had fyve - If I so ofte myghte hae wedded be; And alle were worthy men in hir degree."4 She says the first three were wealthy, wise, and old. The fourth cheated on her, and so she tricked him and made him believe she cheated on him. Yet the fifth she truly loved, although he beat her badly. It is ironic that the only one love out of five men she married was so abusive to

her. He hit her so hard that she was deaf in one ear, and bones still hurt as she told her story. Her story and her prologue go together because she was telling how her husband used to be so mean to her and read from his book of Wicked Wives and tell her how the Romans used to punish their wives for doing disrespectful actions. He did this until she could not take it any longer and tore three pages out of it and hit her husband, Janekin so hard he fell into the fire. Then he beat her and finally after she got the last hit, Alisoun burnt the book and got mastery of Janekin and the land. She said it was then that, "After that day we hadden never debaat. God help me so, I was to him as kinde as any wyf from Denmark unto Inde, and also trewe,and so was he to me."5 Which leads perfectly into her story of the knight.

Alisoun began her story talking about back when King Arthour ruled and Briton was great. Then tells of a lusty knight who was