Wife Of Bath Stereotypes

In Canterbury Tales, the Wife of Bath is one of the main characters on the pilgrimage. Her real name is Alison, and she is from a town in London called Bath. She is a large woman with red, rosy cheeks with a gap between her front teeth, which was considered attractive in the Middle Ages. She loves the finer things in life, especially clothes, and loves to talk and argue. She is intelligent, which is obvious throughout the arguments she makes in her prologue. Throughout her prologue and tale, The Wife of Bath addresses two major social issues from the Middle Ages: the negativity surrounding women and sex and the structure of marriage where the woman is in the submissive role to her husband. The Wife of Bath begins her tale with a prologue discussing …show more content…
Many critics try to use her as one of the first feminist characters of literature, yet she conforms to both misogynist and misogamist stereotypes. The Wife of Bath is repeatedly conforming to stereotypes presented in the prologue including that women are shallow, deceitful, lustful, unreasonable, and gossips. Although, she did not let it go unknown that men would also have bad reputations and stereotypes about them if women had the chance to write about men (Line 694). Even though the Wife of Bath is presented as conforming to the stereotypical women of the Middle Ages, she possesses a lot of qualities as the modern feminist. She is independent and does not need a man to think for her. She thinks for herself. She is unapologetic and unashamed of who she is and is openly honest about her sexuality. In fact, she is proud of her sexuality, stating in her prologue that she is very experienced. She also shares her beliefs and speaks her mind. She is a well educated woman and uses her intelligence to make valuable arguments against her critics. In her prologue, she quotes the Bible and uses the argument that if Solomon could have multiple wives, why could she not enjoy her multiple husbands. She believes that God created sex for both the purpose of procreation and pleasure. Some critics argue that her use of sex was necessary because of the oppressive time period she lived in. Perhaps the best reason that the Wife of Bath can be considered a feminist is because she is strong willed and defends the position of women. She believes that women should be treated with respect from their lovers and that they should be obeyed. Many of the stereotypes that the Wife of Bath’s story presents are still prevalent in today’s society, and the Wife of Bath can be seen as an icon, even in modern times. Even in the oppressive times she lived in, she stilled tried to spread a message for women to own their sexuality and own themselves