Power of Women in the Wife of Bath Prologue and Tale

Introduction

The knight from the "Wife of Bath's Tale" is not a very likable personality. His actions suggest he is just an abstract character, a receiver of the actions, who is used to give the tale's plot a meaning. Neither he nor other characters in the story are even mentioned by name. However, the traits of his character are very real and do exist in the real world. Brought together, they create an un-exciting personality of a man without a purpose in life. The knight is not very smart; he does not think about the consequences of his actions. Raping the girl is one example. In this act, he is guided only by his desires, without considering how right they are. But he doesn't think about the punishment either. The knight lives only for the present moment.

Another example is the rash promise that he gives to the old hag. He agrees to do anything she wants in return for hearing the answer he is looking for. True, if he doesn't get an answer, he will lose his life. However, he doesn't think about the possibility that what the hag will want may turn out to be even worse, considering the fact that honor and personal integrity were valued more than life in those times. The knight is also an ungrateful person. The hag saves him from a certain death and then requests that he marry her. In light of the events, the knight should be grateful to escape death, but instead he views the marriage to his savior as another form of the same punishment. He agrees only because he is bound by the promise, and the chivalric code forces him to keep it.

Thesis Statement

The main theme of the paper is to analyze the power of feminism/women in in the wife of bath prologue and tale.

Discussion/Topic Sentence

Based even just on her introduction in “The Canterbury Tales” via the Prologue to the Wife of Bath's Tale, it appears from the onset that The Wife of Bath from “The Canterbury Tales” simply uses her sexual attributes for personal gain instead of trying to prove her equal status. In general, this female character stereotype is meant to be seen as a parody of sorts since she embodies a number of negative female characteristics including stupidity and arrogance; deceitfulness, and lewdness. Although she is striking back at men it is not for any deeper reason other than personal profit. It appears that in this section of the prologue to the Wife of Bath's tale, Chaucer wants his readers to laugh at this character rather than admire her for her proto-feminist stances on life and marriage.

If the Wife of Bath is a character that is meant to shatter a misogynistic stereotype of women, one could imagine that she would engage in intelligent and informed conversation with some of the members of her party. As it stands, however, the closest she comes to this is by offering ...