Chaucer's Role In The Wife Of Bath

“The Wife of Bath's Tale” (Middle English: the Tale of the Wyf of Bathe) is among the best-known of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. It provides insight into the role of women in the Late Middle Ages and was probably of interest to Chaucer himself, for the character is one of his most developed ones, with her Prologue twice as long as her Tale. He also goes so far as to describe two sets of clothing for her in his General Prologue. She holds her own among the bickering pilgrims, and evidence in the manuscripts suggests that although she was first assigned a different, plainer tale—perhaps the one told by the Shipman—she received her present tale as her significance increased. She calls herself both Alyson and Alys in the prologue, but to confuse matters these are also the names of her 'gossib' (a close friend or gossip), whom she mentions several times, as well as many female …show more content…
“May God never allow his soul to enter hell”(Alison). He was fresh and knew how to sweet talk oh so well. “ Even if he had beaten me on every bone, he could win my beautiful thing again”(Alison).The Wife of Bath believed she loved her fifth husband the best because he was sparing in his love. “ We women, have to tell the truth, an odd fantasy on this matter; whatever thing we can not easily win we will cry after continually and crave”(Alison). She actually loved him for what love was and not for money as she loved the other ones. According to her prologue, she always had control over every man she married. When she married her fifth one, she realized it was a challenge and she liked that. Being that she had no control over him, she would do little things to make him feel as if he did wrong to have for her own personal gain. She always wanted attention and not just sexually. Because she was a woman of power, getting what she wanted was expected. As she said in her tale, being married to him was not a usual marriage for