If the Wife of Bath is a character that is meant to destroy a misogynistic stereotype of women, then shouldn’t she be portrayed as being intelligent and capable of demonstrating her intelligence through conversation and a general understanding on sensitive topics like that of religion? However, the closest she comes to this is by offering her own understanding of the Bible. She states, “People may guess and interpret the text up and down / but I know well, without a doubt / God bade / us expressly to increase and multiply; / That pleasant text can I well understand” (lines 26-29). While it can be found in the Bible that humans should procreate, it is worth noting that she prefaces this statement with a few words about how men sit and interpret
