In Chaucer’s Canterbury tales The Wife of Bath is deliberately described to fit a type of woman who is the opposite of what is considered traditionally desirable, or conventionally acceptable, for a woman in terms of behavior. On the other hand we are led to believe that she was very physically, especially in her youth, and the wealth that she has acquired through the years is alluded to by the garments that she wore. She is one of the two female storytellers, and is a very worldly experienced woman. Not only has she travelled to innumerable far away lands through pilgrimage but she has experienced living and being married to five different men. She is depicted as promiscuous and “radical” in her actions and opinions, due to her lack of adherence
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She would not only site multiple religious texts, as well as other sources, but she also used her own experience-- being her five husbands --to justify her claims. She was a very intelligent woman when it came to common sense or “streetsmarts”. She was able to sustain and provide for herself in a time where women had little to no right to autonomy. The only way she could really do this was through using her body. The Wife of Bath would bargain with her husbands using her body to get what she wanted. Although this could be considered manipulative, that was what most women had to do in order to get what they wanted. They were not awarded the luxury that men had to work very lucrative jobs.
People who read The Wife of Bath’s Tale will either believe The Wife of Bath to be one of two types of women. Some who read will believe her to be a representation of women fighting the status quo and working towards equality with men; others will see her as a selfish, greedy, promiscuous woman who is only interested in money and sexual pleasure. Personally I do not see her as either, I believe she is simply a woman who is invested in her own self-interest--like most people are--and simply can not bring herself to care about how other irrelevant people feel about
She would not only site multiple religious texts, as well as other sources, but she also used her own experience-- being her five husbands --to justify her claims. She was a very intelligent woman when it came to common sense or “streetsmarts”. She was able to sustain and provide for herself in a time where women had little to no right to autonomy. The only way she could really do this was through using her body. The Wife of Bath would bargain with her husbands using her body to get what she wanted. Although this could be considered manipulative, that was what most women had to do in order to get what they wanted. They were not awarded the luxury that men had to work very lucrative jobs.
People who read The Wife of Bath’s Tale will either believe The Wife of Bath to be one of two types of women. Some who read will believe her to be a representation of women fighting the status quo and working towards equality with men; others will see her as a selfish, greedy, promiscuous woman who is only interested in money and sexual pleasure. Personally I do not see her as either, I believe she is simply a woman who is invested in her own self-interest--like most people are--and simply can not bring herself to care about how other irrelevant people feel about