The Wife Of Bath s Prologue By Geoffrey Chaucer - 1324 Words

Throughout history, it has generally been believed that women are of a lesser standard than that of their male counterparts. There has always been an opposition to this theory that believes that the reverse is true, or at the very least, that the sexes are equal. While some authors place women within their works solely as a filler character, or as support of their male lead, there are some that have written with the intent of the females offering a distinctive viewpoint than that of what the readers might be used to. The roles of women in literature have never been forced to be monotonous, yet that’s how they’ve been perceived. However, there are examples of female characters who have been written with the express purpose of breaking that†¦show more content†¦It is almost guaranteed that were it Grendel’s father, there would not be the same outcry. However, it is believed that because she is in fact a female, it is that fact that really cements the other characters in their rally against her wickedness. Because it is believed that a woman who can commit the things that Grendel’s mother has committed can only be evil. Chaucer made sure it was different for the Wife. Within the Prologue, the Wife is heavily criticized for having had five husbands. She, however, does not see the issue. From her position, the Bible does not ever state how many husbands a woman should take. In addition, she points out how Solomon, Jacob and Abraham all had multiple wives simultaneously, alluding to a double standard and hypocrisy in those who would try and demean her for how many husbands she would take by referring to the Bible for her sin while, in that same Bible, there are stories of the exact same situation she is in, only with men in her place instead of women, and those situations are readily accepted. Chaucer characterized the Wife of Bath as fitting almost every stereotype of what a â€Å"bad woman† would be during his time; the W ife is characterized as a scheming, controlling, manipulative woman who exerts her will over her husband’s and portrays them as good or bad based on their level of submittance to her will.Show MoreRelatedThe Wife Of Bath s Prologue By Geoffrey Chaucer1694 Words   |  7 Pagesthis was the socially accepted norm. Quite often, however, this was not the case as seen in the â€Å"Wife of Bath’s Prologue† written by Geoffrey Chaucer. The Wife of Bath was an unconventional woman who acted like the men of the age in multiple ways. The male pilgrims in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales were uncomfortable with her behavior because she was manlier than they were. The prologue begins with the wife, Alys, immediately stepping out of line and asserting herself as an expert on a subject matterRead MoreChaucers The Canterbury Tales1381 Words   |  6 PagesThe Canterbury Tales serves as a moral manual in the Middle Ages. In the tales, Geoffrey Chaucer portrays the problems of the society. For instance, Chaucer uses the monk and the friar in comparison to the parson to show what the ecclesiastical class are doing versus what they are supposed to be doing. In other words, it is to make people be aware of these problems. It can be inferred that the author’s main goal is for this literary work to serve as a message to the people along with changing theRead MoreThe Wife Of Bath s Prologue1134 Words   |  5 PagesThe Wife of Bath uses bible verses in â€Å"The Wife of Bath’s Prologue.† Further, she employs the verses as an outline of her life to find reason in God to justify her actions. Nevertheless, the purpose of the verses d iffers within each stanza of the poem. The Wife of Bath is a sexually promiscuous, lustful, and manipulative woman. She marries men one after the other as they get older and die. In order to combat and overthrow the speculation and criticism being thrust upon her by societal norms becauseRead MoreThe Wife Of Bath, By Geoffrey Chaucer1251 Words   |  6 PagesThe Wife of Bath, emphasizing â€Å"The Prologue of the Wife of Bath’s Tale† and the â€Å"The Prologue† in Geoffrey Chaucer s Canterbury Tales, is an example of the Middle English concept that male authors reflect misogynistic ideals of society onto female characters.With the Wife of Bath, she is a fictional character, as told by Chaucer, going on a Pilgrimage, with constant ridicule for her sexuality and multiple marriages. Chaucer portrays her as a previously battered wife who uses her sexual promiscuityRead MoreThe Wife Of Bath s Prologue And Tale2067 Words   |  9 Pagesâ€Å"The Wife of Bathâ€℠¢s Prologue† and â€Å"The Wife of Bath’s Tale† by Geoffrey Chaucer functions as a way to both satirize and represent female equality. In particular, The Wife of Bath challenges the stereotypes of what may appear to be â€Å"normal† treatment of women during this time period (TheBestNotes.com). She identifies the distinctions between â€Å"traditional† gender roles and relates them to passages from the bible, which are then taken out of context. These passages are meant to justify The Wife of Bath’sRead MoreThe Wife Of Bath s Prologue And Tale990 Words   |  4 PagesThe Wife of Bath s Prologue and Tale is about female empowerment it shows strong protagonists. I believe Geoffrey Chaucer used The Wife of Bath’s Tale to advocate for feminism. Chaucer used a strong female character to expose female stereotypes. It was an oppressive time for women in male-dominated society. During the Middle Ages, Chaucer wrote from a woman’s poin t of view something that was not normal at that time. He set his feminist ideals through the characters of the Wife of Bath and the oldRead MoreGeoffrey Chaucer View and Change on Judgement968 Words   |  4 Pagesthis judgment process, we also form certain opinions towards that person or an organization. Geoffrey Chaucer is one of these people, but he actually did something about it. He had problems with some social aspects during the 1300s which included the church, gender differences, and hypocrisy. He wrote about these problems in a set of tales widely known as The Canterbury Tales. The first is The General Prologue which describes a pilgrimage to Canterbury that many people endure, but on this specific journeyRead MoreWho Was Geoffrey Chaucer?888 Words   |  4 PagesWho was Geoffrey Chaucer? One of the most unique poets of during the Middle Ages was Geoffrey Chaucer. He was born in London sometime between 1340 and 1344. His parents were John Chaucer and Agnes Copton. John Chaucer was an affluent wine merchant and deputy to the king’s butler. Geoffrey held several opportunities early in his life serving as a noblewoman’s page, a courtier, a diplomat, a civil servant, and a collector of scrap metal. He was given theses oppurtunities because of who his father wasRead MoreGeoffrey Chaucer s Impact On Literature1231 Words   |  5 PagesGeoffrey Chaucer’s Impact on Literature: English poet Geoffrey Chaucer is acclaimed to be one of the best and most influential poets in history. Geoffrey Chaucer wrote several famous literary works in what is called middle English. Geoffrey Chaucer was born in 1340 in London, England. Over the course of Chaucer’s life, he entered and exited several different social classes. He began to write his most known pieces when he became a public servant to Countess Elizabeth of Ulster in 1357. He diedRead MoreThe Wife Of Bath s Prologue And Tale1338 Words   |  6 PagesOut of all the notable medieval authors, only Geoffrey Chaucer penned one of the great stories on the plight of being a woman as retold in The Canterbury Tales. â€Å"The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale† points out the fallacy of medieval churches view on women being the lesser gender. â€Å"The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale† follows a woman, the Wife of Bath, who tries to defend the experiences she has had in her life ag ainst the judgements of men. The Wife revealed the prejudice against women at the time