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32) Where do changes in maistrie occur in The Wife of Bath's Tale, and what do these changes inmaistrie mean? Consider Arthur's giving maistrie to Guenevere, the rapist-knight's giving it to his hag-wife, and the hag-wife (in her beautiful form) returning it to the rapist-knight (perhaps immediatelyafter receiving it).
The Exchange of Maistrie in The Wife of Bath’s Tale Within a modern marriage, there is a give and take relationship that allows for a successful relationship; both people have the power, or maistrie, to influence what happens. This differs from marriage in the past where usually men would have the maistrie unless a man would explicitly hand power over to his wife. Chaucer plays with this concept of exchanging maistrie within …show more content…
The rapist-knight’s exchange of maistrie to the hag-wife is an action that would convey he learned a lesson from this experience. However, because of rapist-knight sighing once again and the hag-wife’s long speech occurring before the exchange, it seems only to have been done to get the hag-wife to stop talking so the rapist-knight could sleep. This exchange of maistrie is also undermined by the fact it lasts for such a short period of time. Once the rapist-knight relinquishes the maistrie, his hag-wife is transformed into a young, beautiful woman who will obey him in everything so the maistrie is immediately returned to the rapist-knight and the hag-wife loses all previous independence she had earlier in the …show more content…
Throughout the tale, there is never a moment in which the rapist-knight is shown to be respectful or submissive towards any woman, so him being rewarded with a beautiful, thoughtlessly obedient wife is not an ending that will change his character in any way. Readers may remain unsatisfied and surprised at how the tale ends as within the tale it is stated that women most want sovereignty, and the Wife of Bath telling the tale is a self-assured, unapologetic woman in her actions and words. This contrast towards the actual end of the tale makes the misogynistic attitude of the rapist-knight stand out significantly enough to make readers uncomfortable with the rewarding end he receives. The exchange of maistrie in this tale is the core of the plot, but, arguably, the only real exchange occurs between King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. The maistrie exchange between the rapist-knight and his hag-wife is undone so quickly and she is said to never again get it because she will go the rest of their lives obeying the rapist-knight in everything, it loses the point of the rapist-knight ever relinquishing
32) Where do changes in maistrie occur in The Wife of Bath's Tale, and what do these changes inmaistrie mean? Consider Arthur's giving maistrie to Guenevere, the rapist-knight's giving it to his hag-wife, and the hag-wife (in her beautiful form) returning it to the rapist-knight (perhaps immediatelyafter receiving it).
The Exchange of Maistrie in The Wife of Bath’s Tale Within a modern marriage, there is a give and take relationship that allows for a successful relationship; both people have the power, or maistrie, to influence what happens. This differs from marriage in the past where usually men would have the maistrie unless a man would explicitly hand power over to his wife. Chaucer plays with this concept of exchanging maistrie within …show more content…
The rapist-knight’s exchange of maistrie to the hag-wife is an action that would convey he learned a lesson from this experience. However, because of rapist-knight sighing once again and the hag-wife’s long speech occurring before the exchange, it seems only to have been done to get the hag-wife to stop talking so the rapist-knight could sleep. This exchange of maistrie is also undermined by the fact it lasts for such a short period of time. Once the rapist-knight relinquishes the maistrie, his hag-wife is transformed into a young, beautiful woman who will obey him in everything so the maistrie is immediately returned to the rapist-knight and the hag-wife loses all previous independence she had earlier in the …show more content…
Throughout the tale, there is never a moment in which the rapist-knight is shown to be respectful or submissive towards any woman, so him being rewarded with a beautiful, thoughtlessly obedient wife is not an ending that will change his character in any way. Readers may remain unsatisfied and surprised at how the tale ends as within the tale it is stated that women most want sovereignty, and the Wife of Bath telling the tale is a self-assured, unapologetic woman in her actions and words. This contrast towards the actual end of the tale makes the misogynistic attitude of the rapist-knight stand out significantly enough to make readers uncomfortable with the rewarding end he receives. The exchange of maistrie in this tale is the core of the plot, but, arguably, the only real exchange occurs between King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. The maistrie exchange between the rapist-knight and his hag-wife is undone so quickly and she is said to never again get it because she will go the rest of their lives obeying the rapist-knight in everything, it loses the point of the rapist-knight ever relinquishing