The first statement mentions that “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” is a transformation story about a flawed or ugly woman who has to be rescued or restored by the right man. However, the plot that the question has stated does not appeared in both the prologue and the tale. Even though there is an appearance of an ugly old woman in the last part of the tale, it is not that she has been rescued or restored by a man. Instead, it was more like the old woman is teaching the man that he cannot judge a person by their appearance or their class in the society. As a result, I personally agree with the second idea where it said that “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” is an early tale of feminism showcasing the ways a female character gains power within a repressive,
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The tale began with the story of a knight who violated the rules and raped a young girl. He was sent to the king and was about to receive a death penalty. However, the queen stepped in and told the king not to kill the knight. The part after this is described in lines 72 - 74, “... he gave the queen the case And granted her his life, and she could choose Whether to show him mercy or refuse.” From these lines, it suggests that at this moment, the queen (woman) has the power from the king (man) and is now able to manipulate the knight’s life (man). After that, the queen made a deal with the knight, saying that if he could find the right answer to her question, she would let him live. The main point is that the question given to the knight is, in fact, leading to the Wife of Bath’s idea about feminism. The question is “What could it be that women wanted most? ” (line 97) and the correct answer to this is “A woman wants the self-same sovereignty Over her husband as over her lover, And master him; he must not be above her” (line 214 - 216). This answer clearly supports her claim in the prologue, where the Wife of Bath said that a wife should take control over her husband. As the story continues, the knight got to choose whether he would like the old woman to become young and pretty but unfaithful, or to remain old and ugly but loyal to him. Lastly, the knight chose to …show more content…
Several arguments from both the prologue and the tale support that the Wife of Bath is a feminist. As for examples, some of the arguments are women and men are equal, a wife should have the control over her husband, the husband should obey and follow his wife’s orders, and those men who did not follow the rule have to be punished by god. These claims show that the Wife of Bath is in favor of women. She believes and supports the idea that rights, power, and opportunities should be given to female, and therefore, she is considered a
The tale began with the story of a knight who violated the rules and raped a young girl. He was sent to the king and was about to receive a death penalty. However, the queen stepped in and told the king not to kill the knight. The part after this is described in lines 72 - 74, “... he gave the queen the case And granted her his life, and she could choose Whether to show him mercy or refuse.” From these lines, it suggests that at this moment, the queen (woman) has the power from the king (man) and is now able to manipulate the knight’s life (man). After that, the queen made a deal with the knight, saying that if he could find the right answer to her question, she would let him live. The main point is that the question given to the knight is, in fact, leading to the Wife of Bath’s idea about feminism. The question is “What could it be that women wanted most? ” (line 97) and the correct answer to this is “A woman wants the self-same sovereignty Over her husband as over her lover, And master him; he must not be above her” (line 214 - 216). This answer clearly supports her claim in the prologue, where the Wife of Bath said that a wife should take control over her husband. As the story continues, the knight got to choose whether he would like the old woman to become young and pretty but unfaithful, or to remain old and ugly but loyal to him. Lastly, the knight chose to …show more content…
Several arguments from both the prologue and the tale support that the Wife of Bath is a feminist. As for examples, some of the arguments are women and men are equal, a wife should have the control over her husband, the husband should obey and follow his wife’s orders, and those men who did not follow the rule have to be punished by god. These claims show that the Wife of Bath is in favor of women. She believes and supports the idea that rights, power, and opportunities should be given to female, and therefore, she is considered a