Wednesday, September 7, 2016

For Friday: The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale


Answer TWO of the following...

Q1: The beginning of the Wife of Bath’s Prologue is a defense of multiple marriages using her own interpretation of the Scriptures. What is her basic argument, and why might this have been shocking for its time—particularly considering the many Church figures in the audience?

Q2: At one point, the Pardoner interrupts, claiming he was thinking about marriage, but the Wife of Bath claims, “You wait...you’ll taste another brew before I’m done;/You’ll find it doesn’t taste as good as ale” (263). What are her views about marriage, especially considering she’s done it five times? Is she trying to discourage men and women from tying the knot, or does she simply have a less chivalric view of wedded bliss?  Discuss a moment that seems to illustrate this.

Q3: Toward the end of the Prologue, the Wife of Bath claims, “Lies, tears, and spinning are the things God gives/By nature to a woman, while she lives” (269). She goes on to say that “No one can be so bold—I mean no man--/At lies and swearing as a woman can" (264).  How do you respond to her characterization of women in this Prologue? Is she a forward-thinking, bold-as-brass proto-feminist, or is she just another male stereotype of a greedy, nagging wife?  What sways you one way or the other?

Q4: How might the “Wife of Bath’s Tale” itself be a response to “The Knight’s Tale”? Why do you think she chooses a knight as her protagonist? Is the manner of his victory similar or different than that of Palamon and Nicolas? 

12 comments:


  1. Q1 The woman from Bath is quite interesting because she seems so progressive for her time. She doesn't want to be the standard housewife that submits to her husband, instead she seems to be a strong, independent woman who isn't bothered by what society may think of her. She makes a few key points when she defends her marriages. She states that one of God's wishes for humans is to increase and multiply, and marriage is the most socially acceptable way to "multiply". It is also worth expressing that the Wife of Bath obviously enjoys life's carnal pleasures, however, I do not recall any mention of children. She also insinuates that if she is going to enjoy carnal pleasures, it is better (in God's eyes) to do it with a spouse as opposed to pre marital sex. However, my favorite argument that she made can basically be boiled down to "If we have genitals, why not make the most of it?" Around lines 149-150, she states "In marriage I'll use my equipment as freely as my maker sent it."

    Q2 I think that the Wife is mainly encouraging people to what they enjoy and not let the opinion's of other dissuade them. The Wife seems like she follows an Epicurean philosophy. Her marital, sexual, and domestic beliefs seem very forward thinking for her time; they aren't quite up to par with our modern beliefs, but probably advanced enough to alarm the more pious members of the group. Considering her defense of the "use of her equipment" it is safe to say that her love life is not chivalric.

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    1. Yes, she is very Epicurean (and she would have read Epicurean literature in Latin) and believes that pleasure has been outlawed for women like literature and learning itself. It's a simple way to control them. She challenges her society's stereotypes about women while seeming to enforce them. But perhaps she's saying that in such an unequal society, the only way to be equal is to occasionally get the upper hand--and keep it! For the time, this is very progressive and eye-opening...there's no one quite like her in Medieval literature, and not in English literature until Shakespeare.

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  2. Q1: The Wife of Bath argues for the reputation of women, like her, who have been married and remarried more than once, because in this time it was expected of Widows to never remarry and even become a Nun. But mainly she argues her stance against the Church’s importance of “purity”/Virginity. She argues that “[she] won’t stay chaste for ever, that’s a fact. / For when [her] husband leaves this mortal life / Some Christian man shall wed [her] soon enough. / For then, says the Apostle Paul, [she’s] free / To wed, in God’s name, where it pleases [her]. / He says that to be married is no sin, / Better it is to marry than to burn” (151). She also claims that Paul stated that the idea of a woman being a maiden is just a suggestion/advice and not a command because there is no rule, or law, in the bible that commands it. As she states, if everyone was chaste and a virgin, there would be no virgins born to continue that tradition, and that also, in turn, goes against the commands to “be fruitful and multiply”. She also argues that women should be able to be in charge of their husbands just as the husband is in charge of their wives. On page 154, she points to I Corinthians 7:4, which says that “a wife has no authority over her own body, but the husband does. Just so, a husband has no authority over his own body, but the wife does”, by saying that her husband should have “trouble in the flesh” because, biblically, his body belongs to her.

    Q2: I don’t think that the Wife of Bath is trying to scare people from getting married, because she, herself, has admitted to loving being married. I feel like she knows that most “common men” don’t follow the ideals of chivalric love and bliss, but that some equal grounds of respect, love, and power are needed. I feel as if she has this long drawn out “sermon” because she wants the moral of her story to be understood before she even tells it. As I said in the last question, she approves of the idea that women need to obey their husbands just as men need to obey their wives, but as I can take from her tales of her marriages she doesn’t want her husband to accuse her of cheating, but she also doesn’t want to be ruled by him and wants equal share in their possessions and wealth. I think her stance comes from her opinion of her fifth husband, because while he was “bad” she still loved him regardless. I think this is because she didn’t have control over him, but in the end she found an equal ground with her husband. If anything, I feel like she is pointing out the problem with how men tend to perceive and categorize all women as either cheats/”the ruin of mankind” (168) or something that is completely unobtainable. As her tale points out at the end with the “old lady” asks the husband if he would rather have a wife that is old but faithful or young but unfaithful. I think this a reference to both tales we have read so far from the Miler and the Knight, because the Miller depicted the woman as unfaithful and young, but the Knight didn’t seem to give this main lady any robust character, but his girl would fit against the Wife of Bath’s stance on purity, which she says she personally doesn’t enjoy but finds to do well for others as their choosing. So, instead of the girl in the Knight’s story who is not given a choice, the woman in this tale is given a choice by her husband/love and that gives them both happiness.

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    1. Great responses...yes, even though she has a dim view of marriage as it is largely practiced in her society, she still desires it, and desires a true companion. And she's willing to marry an entire village looking for the right man. Her Tale is her version of a fairy-tale, with a truly happy ending. She knows this will never happen in life, but hopefully, if she browbeats her husband and teaches him that he is NOT her lord and master, he can gradually come to terms with being at least equal to her. And if not, she'll still have the upper hand!

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  3. 1. Her basic argument is that Solomon had multiple wives, and even Abraham had a number of different relations. If these strong men of the faith are given such an opportunity, why is it so wrong for her to have a multiple husbands one at a time? In this she shows her knowledge of the scriptures as well as being well-versed in Christian literature of Greek origins. This is likely befuddling to the religious leaders in company as it is exclusively for men to be studying such works – not even all men, but men in the upper class and men in their religious position. For a woman to be taking on the task of men who are Church leaders is something that is entirely unheard of and absolutely appalling in this culture.


    3. The image that is placed in my mind upon reading what three gifts God grants women is of a woman who is a home-keeper as well as a home-runner. This characteristic is one that is loving, kind, and nurturing as a wife should be, but is also one that is utterly manipulative and governing. This was proven to me on pages 169 and 170 of my version when the Wife of Bath tears out the pages of her husband’s – whom she loves – book that is entirely made up of literature that bashes women. This act infuriates the husband and drives him to hitting her in the face and causing his wife to spill out onto the floor of their home (which is likely something more like a flop we would see in any given soccer match for the victimized player to gain favor of the referee) and cry out, “You’ve murdered me…just for my land! But I’ll kiss you once more, before I’m dead!” Naturally, the husband is quick to her aid and is willing to let her be able to say, “…I’d got myself the upper hand/And is this way obtained complete command…” She is absolutely bold-as-brass as she plays her husband – and her husbands prior!

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    1. Yes, she really one-ups many of the 'learned' figures here, since we're told in the General Prologue that the Summoner only knows one Latin phrase and can't read it at all. They use their learning to oppress, while she uses it to liberate women like herself from the tyranny of overbearing husbands. And if she has to cheat a bit along the way, so be it!

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  4. #1
    She argued that if men a can do it, then women can do it! I can see now her taste of feminism now. She claims that all of these men are doing/ have done what she is doing. Solomon, David (not sure if mentioned in book). She says that nowhere in the bible does it say how many times she's allowed to marry. So she will marry until she wants to stop. This is shocking to everyone to hear. Women were supposed to be the background. Not really independent at all nor would they have a say in what goes on. So this was big for the time back then to have a women be independent and also fully in control.

    #2
    Her view on marriage was not good. She married 4 times to obtain land and money. Only until her 5th marriage was when she fell in love. But she said that turned out to be the worst because he was abusive and didn't let her have a say in anything. I agree with the above comment about how the wife tore the pages because she wanted her husband to see her as treasure and a prize and not from a book that women were judges so harshly.

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    1. Yes, she is unwilling to play second fiddle because she was forced to early in her life, and saw so many women do the same. While I think she would be the first to laugh at herself and call herself a 'bitch,' she thinks this is simply what life taught her to be. It's either this or be a slave, and I think most people would choose to be an aggressive nag than a miserable servant.

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  5. Dana Welch

    Q1.
    The wife of Bath is all in favor of multiple marriages. She thinks that men and women were put on earth to breed, as she says in this passage, 'Tell me to what conclusion or in aid, of what were generative organs made?' She believes that men and women were meant to marry and consummate that marriage and other wise you would have to be very innocent and clean like Jesus.


    Q2.
    She is trying to make the group understand, marriage may sound good
    but it is not all its cracked up to be. It is a lot of work, even for the wife. She tells though, of how she has to please him in bed, and then he will buy her things, and that seems like that may be some of the Work she is talking about. She also mentions spinning, but not much of doing anything else. She thinks she has to look attractive for him and that is a lot of work, and she talks of how one of her husbands was going astray and drinking. She finally made his life so miserable that he died.

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    1. Good responses...her point her may be that marriage is what we all yearn for, but we never find the great match we aspire to. Equality is an illusion in marriage, so you can either get beaten up or become a bully yourself. Maybe her point is simply that women should try to get the upper hand once in a while (since otherwise, men always do!).

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  6. 1. The life Bath goes through series of defending her marriages with her previous husbands in quite a unique way. To the best of my understanding, her bases for living life as she does is the idea that the Lord does not put constraints on the love lives of individuals. On pg. 151 on lines 2-4, she says, “And what about that wise King Solomon:/Now would to God that I might lawfully/Be solaced half as many times as he!” Making a Biblical reference about the many wives of Solomon, she is claiming that if he can have many, so can she. The Wife also appears to make a Genesis 1:28 reference which says “And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (English Standard Version Bible, Genesis 1:28). To “defend” this claim she says on pg. 153, lines 15-18, “That’s to say, for a necessary function/As much as for enjoyment in procreation/Wherein we do not displease God in Heaven.” For her to say these things probably made the religious individuals have quite shocked looks on their faces.

    "Genesis 1:28 God Blessed Them and Said to Them, "Be Fruitful and Increase in Number; Fill the Earth and Subdue It. Rule over the Fish in the Sea and the Birds in the Sky and over Every Living Creature That Moves on the Ground."" Genesis 1:28. Bible Hub, n.d. Web. 09 Sept. 2016.


    3. I think the Wife of Bath sees women as overcomers. The reason why I think this is when readers look at the relationship she has with a man on page 170. In this portion of the text, she talks about him hitting her and her and her retaliating back against him. In lines 23-25 she says, “And then and there I made him burn his book!/And when I’d got myself the upper hand/And in this way obtained complete command.” Here I think she is explaining, that though she shouldn’t have necessary should have “won,” she did. The Wife of Bath also thinks that women should have the freedom to go about and do as they please. On page 166 she says in lines 7-8, “And walk I would, as I had done before,/From house to house, no matter how he swore”. She could not be tamed and refused to be as saying on that same page in line 5, “I was untamable as a lioness.”

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  7. Great responses--nice way to cross-check her references! Again, in this day it would be surprising to hear a woman so well-versed in the scripture, to say nothing of Latin, Greek, and Italian literature!

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Next Week and the 15-Point Quiz!

 We have ONE MORE class next week, on Monday, when we'll wrap up the class and talk about adaptations. Bring your paper with you IF you ...