The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale

1. Context
The Canterbury Tales is written in Middle English, a form of English that combined elements of Old English
and French which were spoken from 1150 to 1470. Chaucer was one of the first writers to create popular
fiction in the English vernacular. When he was writing in the 1300s, English was rarely used in official
contexts; Latin was the language of the Church and French was the language of the court. The enormous
popularity of this text contributed to the legitimization of the English language.

2. Historical Background
Not only was language unstable during Chaucer’s lifetime but so was the political and social makeup of
England. The Black Death ravaged Europe throughout Chaucer’s childhood and adulthood. An estimated
thirty to fifty percent of the population died, leaving the peasant working classes ravaged. This scarcity of
labor led to workers being able to better bargain for higher wages and better treatment.

The Hundred Years’ War further contributed to class tensions. The rich profited from the war and began
indulging in showy luxury items, which led to the establishment of a rich merchant oligarchy that had
significant influence in London. This, coupled with the increasing demands on the peasantry, led the
artisans and peasants to revolt. Escalating class tensions from Chaucer’s time are evident throughout the
stories within The Canterbury Tales.

3. Author
Chaucer was influenced by famous Italian writers such as Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio. The Canterbury
Tales borrows most heavily from Boccaccio’s The Decameron, which also uses a frame story to relate to a
couple of smaller tales.

Chaucer's attitudes toward the Church should not be confused with his attitudes toward Christianity. He
seems to have respected and admired Christians and to have been one himself, though he also recognized
that many people in the church were venal and corrupt. He wrote in Canterbury Tales, "now I beg all those
that listen to this little treatise, or read it, that if there be anything in it that pleases them, they thank our
Lord Jesus Christ for it, from whom proceeds all understanding and goodness."
4. Pilgrimage
Chaucer’s story follows pilgrims on their way to Canterbury Cathedral. The Cathedral was a popular
pilgrimage location because it contained the remains of Sir Thomas Becket, a Catholic martyr, and saint.
A pilgrimage is a religious journey undertaken for penance and grace. As pilgrimages went, Canterbury was
not a very difficult destination for an English person to reach. It was, therefore, very popular in fourteenth-
century England, as the narrator mentions.

Pilgrims traveled to visit the remains of Saint Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, who was murdered
in 1170 by knights of King Henry II. Soon after his death, he became the most popular saint in England. The
pilgrimage in The Canterbury Tales should not be thought of as an entirely solemn occasion, because it also
offered the pilgrims an opportunity to abandon work and take a vacation. Pilgrimages have always
mixed religious devotion and tourism.

5. The General Prologue

Chaucer came up with the ingenuous literary device of having a pilgrimage, a technique that allowed him
to bring together a diverse group of people. Thus, Chaucer's narrators represent a wide spectrum of society
with various ranks and occupations. From the distinguished and noble Knight, we descend through
the pious abbess, the honorable Clerk, the rich landowner, the worldly and crude Wife, and on down the
scale to the low, vulgar Miller and Carpenter, and the corrupt Pardoner.

Aside from the high literary standard of The Canterbury Tales, the work stands as a historical and
sociological introduction to the life and times of the late Middle Ages. During Chaucer's time,
regardless of how brilliant and talented one might be, there was no way for a commoner to move from his
class into the aristocracy. Chaucer, however, made that leap as well as anyone could. As a commoner, he
was familiar with and was accepted by the lower classes as well as by the higher classes; thus, throughout
his life, he was able to observe both the highest and the lowest, and his gifted mind made the best of these
opportunities.

6. The Wife of Bath's Prologue Summary

The Wife of Bath begins the Prologue of her tale by establishing herself as an authority on marriage, due to
her extensive personal experience with the institution. Since her first marriage at the tender age of twelve,
she has had five husbands. She says that many people have criticized her for her numerous marriages,
saying that “That since Christ went never but once. To a wedding, in the Cana of Galilee.” (In lines 10-11)
The Wife of Bath has her own views of Scripture and God’s plan. She says that men can only guess and
interpret what Jesus meant when he told a Samaritan woman that her fifth husband was not her husband.
With or without this bit of Scripture, no man has ever been able to give her an exact reply when she asks to
know how many husbands a woman may have in her lifetime. “God commanded us to grow fruitful and
multiply” (In line 28), she says expressly, without lie.
After all, she admits that many great Fathers of the Church have proclaimed the importance of virginity.
But she reasons, that if virginity is important, someone must be procreating so that virgins can be created.
Leave virginity to the perfect, she says, and let the rest of us use our gifts as best we may—and her gift,
doubtless, is her sexual power. She uses this power as an instrument to control her husbands.

Of her five husbands, three have been “good” and two have been “bad.” The first three were good, she
admits, mostly because they were rich, old, and submissive. She laughs to recall the torments that she put
these men through. She would accuse her husband of having an affair. Moreover, if her husband got drunk,
she would claim he said that every wife is out to destroy her husband. Then, he would feel guilty and give
her what she wanted. Worse, she would tease her husbands in bed, refusing to give them satisfaction until
they promised her money. She admits proudly to using her verbal and sexual power to bring her husbands
to total submissive. The Wife of Bath tells the rest of the pilgrims, that all of this was a pack of lies, but she
made these claims to give them grief.

The Wife of Bath begins her description of her two “bad” husbands. She describes her fourth husband as” a
reveler, and he had a mistress “(In line 454). Remembering her wild youth, she and her fourth husband
used to indulge. However, she says “I had in heart great anger. That he had delight in any other.” (In lines
481-482). But he was paid back, she confesses that she was always trying to make him jealous, and she was
his purgatory on the earth. He died while she was on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

Of her fifth husband, she has much more to say. This husband was different from the other four because
she married him for love, not money. She loved him, even though he treated her horribly and beat her. He
was lively and flattering in bed and always won her back.

When she first met this fifth husband, Jankyn, she was still married to her fourth. While walking with him
one day, she told him that she would marry him if she were widowed. She lied to him and told him he had
enchanted her, and that she had dreamed that he would kill her as she slept, filling her bed with blood,
which signifies gold. In fact, she never had such a dream.

At her fourth husband’s funeral, she made a big show of crying, although she actually cried very little since
she already had a new husband lined up. As she watched Jankyn carry her husband’s casket, she fell in love
with him. He was only twenty and she was forty, but she thought she could handle his youth. However, she
came to regret the age difference, because he would not suffer her abuse like her past husbands and gave
some of his own abuse in return.

He had a book of wicked wives she recalls (In line 685), called Valerie and Theofraste. This book contained
the stories of the most deceitful wives in history. Jankyn would torment the Wife of Bath by reading out of
this book at night. One evening, the Wife tears three pages out of the book and punches Jankyn in the face.
Jankyn repays her by striking her on the head, which is the reason why she is now deaf in one ear. She cries
out that she wants to kiss him before she dies, but when he comes over, she hits him again. They finally
manage an agreement, in which he hands over all house and land to her, and she acts kindly and
loving. Her tale of her marriage is finished, and the Wife announces that she will tell her story.
7. The Wife of Bath's Prologue Analysis
The Wife's prologue is unique because it is longer than the tale itself. The Wife of Bath uses the prologue to
explain her theories about experience and authority as well as introduce the point of her tale. “Women
desire to have sovereignty as well over her husband as her love.” (In line 1038) Since she has had five
husbands, the Wife feels that she can speak with authority from this experience.

In Chaucer's time, the antifeminism of the church was a strong controlling factor. Women were frequently
characterized as witches; the Wife of Bath is exactly what the medieval Church saw as a “wicked woman”.
Likewise, in Chaucer's time, a second marriage was considered suspect, so the Wife of Bath carefully
reviews the words of God. She quotes the words that Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman “for thou hast
had five husbands, and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband" (John 4:18), supporting her theory
about nobody can answer her how many marriages she should have. And her knowledge of scripture
represents that she is not simply an empty-minded woman. However, she confesses that she can find a
stricture against more than one marriage.

Furthermore, in Chaucer's time, “Virginity is great perfection” (In line 105) Lifetime virginity received was
considered as praise. However, the wife of Bath appeals to common sense — if everyone remained a virgin,
who would be left to give birth to more virgins? She maintains that sex organs are to be used for pleasure
as well as for procreation. She admits that she is a woman who enjoys sex and is not ashamed of it. She
also denies the popular belief that women should be submissive, especially in matters of sex.

The Wife of Bath’s arguments are all against the authorities of the church and she is a woman who prefers
her own experiences. The truly remarkable aspect of the Wife of Bath's prologue is not only her argument
with the authorities of the church but also the very wonderful portrait of a human being. She is a woman
who is wonderfully alive. She has the power to enjoy life, but she has lost her beauty and her youth after
five husbands, she has survived.

The Wife of Bath's Tale is a story tells to illustrate her theories. In this case, the tale is to provide an answer
to the question " What thing it is that women most desire?" (In line 905) Throughout the Wife's tale,
traditional values such as leadership are overthrown. For example, the knight was condemned to be dead
by course of law, and the queen as well as other ladies pray for him. Eventually, King Arthur “gave him to
the queen, all at her will.” (In line 897) The ladies of the court instead of the men, and the queen makes the
final decision instead of the king. These plots are all against traditional values. Finally, at the end of the tale,
the old woman offers the knight both intolerable choices. When he chooses to let her make the decision,
he has abandoned the male's sovereignty. Emphasizing the point of her tale. “Women desire to have
sovereignty as well over her husband as her love.” (In line 1038)

In her prologue, the Wife admirably supports her position by reference to all sorts of scholarly learning, and
when some source of authority disagrees with her point of view, she dismisses it and relies instead on her
own experience. Because she has had the experience of having had five husbands, there is no better proof
of her views than her own experience.
8. The Wife of Bath's Tale Summary
In the days of King Arthur, a young knight comes across a beautiful young maiden one day. Overcome by
lust and his sense of his own power, he rapes her. That this knight was condemned to be dead. However,
Arthur’s queen asks the king to give him one chance to save his own life. King Arthur grants the request,
the queen presents the knight with the following challenge, “What thing it is that women most desire” (In
line 905). If he cannot find the answer to the queen’s question within one year, he will lose his head.

The knight sets forth in sorrow. He roams throughout the country, posing the question to every woman he
meets. To the knight’s dismay, nearly every one of them answers differently. Some claim that women love
money best, some honor, looks, remarriage, and some say that women most want to be free to do as they
wish.

When his day of judgment draws near, the knight sorrowfully heads for home. As he rides near a forest, he
sees a large group of women dancing and decides to ask his question. But as he approaches, they vanish
and all he can see is an ugly old woman. The woman asks if she can be of help, and the knight explains his
predicament and promises to reward her if she can help him.

The knight and the old woman travel together to the court, where the knight tells the queen the answer
that the old woman supplied him “Women desire to have sovereignty. As well over her husband as her
love, and to be in mastery above him.” (In lines 1038-1040). In all the court there was no wife, nor maid,
nor widow that denied what he said, and the queen spares the knight’s life.

The old woman comes forth and publicly asks the knight to marry her in return. The knight begs her to take
his possessions rather than his body, but she refuses the request. Throughout the entire wedding, the
knight remains miserable. While in bed, the old woman asks the knight why he is so sad. He replies that he
could hardly bear the shame of having such an ugly old wife. She offers the knight a choice: either he can
have her be ugly but loyal and good, or he can have her young and fair but unfaithful.

The knight ponders in silence. Finally, he replies that he would rather trust her judgment, and he asks her
to choose whatever she thinks best. Because the knight’s answer gave the woman what she most desired,
the authority to choose for herself, she becomes both beautiful and good. The two have a long, happy
marriage.
9. The Wife of Bath's Tale Analysis
The Wife of Bath tells the tale of an old ugly woman to transform into a beautiful young maid. This kind of
story was quite well known in folk legend and poetry. The poet John Gower wrote a version of the same
tale that was very popular in Chaucer’s time.

The Wife begins her tale by depicting the golden age of King Arthur as one that was both more risky and
fuller of opportunity for women. Every time a woman traveled alone; she was in danger of encountering an
evil spirit who would seduce women. But society also highly respects women. After the knight commits
rape, the king hands him over to the queen, who decides to send him on an educational quest.

The old woman might be intended to represent the Wife of Bath herself, at least as she would like others to
see her. Although the woman has aged, she can display all her inner beauty if the right man comes along,
just as the Wife of Bath did with her fifth and favorite husband, the youthful Jankyn.

Although the old woman becomes beautiful and young in response to the knight’s well response, it is
unclear whether he truly had enough respect for the old woman that he allowed her to choose for herself,
or whether he had simply learned how to supply her with the correct answer.

If we agree with the former, we may see the Wife as an idealistic character who believes that bad men can
change. If we choose the latter, the Wife becomes a much more cynical character, inclined to mistrust all
men. In the second interpretation, both transformations—the knight’s shallow change in behavior but not
in soul and the woman’s transformation into the physical object of desires—are only skin deep. Perhaps she
is giving him exactly what he deserves: superficiality.

10. The Wife of Bath’s voice is different from Chaucer’s own, and he doesn’t

necessarily agree with her.

All her life, she was a worthy woman, Husbands at the church door, she'd had five then,
Not counting other company in youth—

her large hips and Gap toothed