For Wednesday:
The Wife of Bath’s Tale
Answer the
following question—only ONE!
Considering what
we’ve read and discussed about the Wife of Bath in her Prologue, why do you
think she tells this tale? What about
the tale seems consistent with her character, morals, and philosophy? Also, how might this tale be a response to
the previous tales of love by men—the Knight and the Miller? You might consider her ideas about how and why men tell stories of women in literature.
Discuss a specific
passage to illustrate your ideas so I can see where you ‘see’ the Wife of Bath
in this poem.
I think the Wife of Bath told this tale to paint a different picture of women than the tales before this. She admits in her prologue that she likes to be in control of relationships; therefore, it was no surprise that her tale was centered around a woman controlling a man. When the Knight is forced to marry the old hag, because she saves his life, she proposes a question to him. Would he rather her be ugly and faithful or beautiful and loyal? This is where after some thought the Knight gives her the authority to choose. Because the Knight gave her freedom, the old hag transforms into a young, beautiful, obedient wife. I think the Wife of Bath wants people to believe that love could transform her, also. After all, she is on the hunt for husband #6!
ReplyDeleteRocky Moore
ReplyDeleteAll of the things that the Wife of Bath had been previously argued in the prologue is pretty much wrapped into one whole story. The question she poses to the Knight from the Tale she tells, and possibly the Knight that was first to tell a tale on their pilgrimage, is a question she is asking basically all men of the time and even men to this day can still look to this as advice for their relations with women. The question she poses on page 172 says, "But you shall live if you can answer me, What is the thing that women most desire?" She knows that most men cannot answer this question because again men think very lowly or objectively about women as you can tell from the Knight's tale and the Miller's tale as well. Degrading women is something that has been around for thousands of years. She is trying to argue against that position. She is consistent in her approach that women want dominion and mastery over their husbands as she had previously said in the prologue. I don't think this has a negative connotation behind it more or less women want to be known as someone in the relationship that is not looked down upon, and it is okay for women to have the upper hand. Lets be honest, most women know how to fulfill the aspect of looking out for our well being better than we can a lot of the times.
The ending of her tale is perfect, she has the old, ugly lady ask the Knight what he wants- an old and ugly but loyal wife that will only stand by his side, or a beautiful wife that will be chased and flocked by all men, which is usually what men go after or prefer unfortunately. The Knight actually takes into consideration what this old and ugly woman has to say to him and ultimately makes the wisest decision by telling him there is no matter which she chooses, he will love her just the same. He ends up getting the best of both worlds just because he took the time to take her words into consideration and actually listen to the women.
Elyse Marquardt
ReplyDeleteThis story sums up in ten short pages what the Wife of Bath rambled on about for twice that many pages in her Prologue. The fact that the knight is a rapist is interesting to me. The Wife was given to her first letch of a husband when she was 12, and since then she has had a string of men who do whatever they want with her (I don't care if she says they are giving her exactly what she wants, she's also forced to give them exactly what THEY want, which is her body and soul). Her view of men is twisted so that any male is naturally a predator. Then she spends the rest of the story reasserting her point that women want power over their husbands, which is something she has been trying to gain over her spouses since she was a child. The end of her story would probably be a dream come true for her, because a powerful man is brought low and humbled by his wife - the very goal she has been aiming for with all of her husbands and most likely all the illicit lovers she had in the past. In short, she is probably telling her idea of a fairytale with a happy ending, while all the men in the group are flabbergasted and all the self-respecting women demurely hold their handkerchiefs to their noses.
Kelsey Tiger
ReplyDeleteI think this tale is the moral of what the Wife of Bath portrayed in her Prologue, that she wants power over her husband/men. The old, ugly, and poor lady had the capability of getting the knight to fall in love with her and wed her all because she saved his life. Previous tales were one sided stories told by men that depict women as only wicked. The Wife of Bath wasn’t ashamed of who she was, she just wanted freedom and be able to have control. She gives the knight an ultimatum and he placed himself in her “wise governance.” She then says to her husband the knight, “Then I’ve the mastery of you, since I may choose and decide as I wish?” In the end she wins the power over the knight and they live a happy life.
Ashley Bean
ReplyDeleteI really feel like she is almost telling her life story again, with the 5th husband, in a more fictional sense now. Even though the knight was not nice to the old woman at first, she challenged him. In the end, he made the right decision by taking her side into account. The Wife of Bath is trying to push what she said in her prologue even further through a more distant story that was less of an impact as her life story. On pages 180-181 the woman gives him his choice. Really this is just another way for women to get control. Both stories are about women getting in control in sly ways. The Wife of Bath did say lies, tears, and spinning. Those factors make up manipulation in my mind, and that's kind of what the woman in the tale did. She saved him, but for a price. She goes from being an old, single had to a lovely, young, married lady with a husband that showers her in kisses. All in ten pages.
The Wife of Bath remains consistent with her values and philosophies in telling this story. She reinforces the idea that woman want to have power over their husbands. We see this in the ending when the old woman the knight marries gives him the choice between having an old, ugly, faithful wife or a possibly unfaithful, young, beautiful wife. The knight gives the wife power to choose what she thinks is best and it turns out well for them. This is one of the things I think that the Wife of Bath emphasizes the most; women want to know they have a voice in their marriage. Also, we see women having power in that the queen decides his fate and the fact that only a woman can help him answer the question that saves his life.
ReplyDeleteMost of the stories so far (at least the ones we've read) are about how women are the downfall of men and falling in love can and will lead to humiliation and/or death. None of them have been a particularly pleasant picture of a woman. The Wife of Bath is all about women having power and intelligence and being able to make up her mind for herself and have a say in what goes on in her life. The part that really stuck out to me was towards the end. The old woman told the man that women want to have power over their husbands. When the man relented and gave her the power she craved, she was a beautiful, loving, and loyal wife for the rest of their lives. Her point in this entire story was that women, if given some freedom to decide things for themselves, will be happier and more willing to work for their relationships and their men. She just wanted to emphasize how women need/deserve to have some power, too.
ReplyDeleteAimee Elmore
ReplyDeleteI think the reason why the wife of Bath tells this story is because she is Showing who men really are. The knight made the knight in his own story look good. In her story the knight dies a terrible thing. But in her story the women are the ones that save him. She was saying this is how life is. She was responding to the Millers tale by saying not all women are trying to destroy you because the older lady help the knight. She saved his life. All the women did.