The opening page of The Wife of Bath's Tale from the Ellesmere manuscript of The Canterbury Tales, circa 1405-1410.

"The Wife of Bath's Tale" is a tale from Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. It gives insight into the role of women in the Late Middle Ages and is probably of interest to Chaucer himself, for the character is one of his most developed ones, with her prologue twice as long as her tale. He also goes so far as to describe two sets of clothing for her in his General Prologue. She holds her own among the bickering pilgrims, and evidence in the manuscripts suggests that although she was first assigned a different, plainer tale—perhaps the one told by the Shipman—she received her present tale as her significance increased. She calls herself both Alyson and Alys in the prologue, but to confuse matters these are also the names of her 'gossib' (a close friend or gossip), whom she mentions several times, as well as many female characters throughout The Canterbury Tales. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (707x1000, 728 KB) Summary Opening page of The Wife of Baths Prologue Tale, from the Ellesmere manuscript of Geoffrey Chaucers The Canterbury Tales. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (707x1000, 728 KB) Summary Opening page of The Wife of Baths Prologue Tale, from the Ellesmere manuscript of Geoffrey Chaucers The Canterbury Tales. ... Geoffrey Chaucer (c. ... Canterbury Tales Woodcut 1484 The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century (two of them in prose, the rest in verse). ... Dante by Michelino The Late Middle Ages is a term used by historians to describe European history in the period of the 14th to 16th centuries (AD 1300–1500). ... The Shipmans Tale is one of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. ... For the Central Coast suburb, see Alison, New South Wales. ...

The tale is often regarded as the first of the so-called "marriage group" of tales, which includes the Clerk's, the Merchant's and the Franklin's tales. But some scholars contest this grouping, first proposed by Chaucer scholar George Lyman Kittredge, not least because the later tales of Melibee and the Nun's Priest also discuss this theme. A separation between tales that deal with moral issues and ones that deal with magical issues, as the Wife of Bath's does, is favoured by some scholars. The Clerks Tale is the first tale of Group E in Geoffrey Chaucers The Canterbury Tales. ... The Merchant The Merchants Prologue and Tale is one of Geoffrey Chaucers Canterbury Tales. ... The Franklins Tale is one of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. ... George Lyman Kittredge (February 28, 1860–July 23, 1941) was a scholar of English literature and a professor at Harvard University. ... The Tale of Melibee is one of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. ... The tale of Chanticleer and the Fox is a beast fable popularized by the 14th century Middle English poet Geoffrey Chaucer. ...

Prologue

The Wife of Bath’s Prologue belongs to Fragment III (Group D) of Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales and is essentially about marriage. The Wife of Bath, or Alisoun, establishes herself as an authority on marriage in the first three lines of her prologue. She tells the other pilgrims that she has been married five times and, likely anticipating the hostility of her fellow pilgrims, attempts to provide justification for her numerous marriages. Alisoun states that Christ never stated the number of times people could marry, but people assume that because he attended a single wedding, that of Cana of Galilee, individuals should only marry once. She points to how Abraham and Jacob each had more than two wives. Alisoun’s justification of her actions continues with her note that, while Christ is perfect, she is not.

Alisoun moves away from her attempts to justify her numerous nuptials and, instead, starts to discuss the men that she married and her relationships with them. According to her, three were good men and two were not. The three that were good were all old and rich. Alisoun prides herself in telling the other pilgrims that she had control over them, which she apparently achieved by lying to them. She used to tell her husbands that they said horrible things about her and women in general while in a drunken state, in order to gain the upper hand in the marital relationship. Alisoun then speaks of her fourth husband, whom she fondly remembers torturing because she felt he robbed her of her youth and beauty: it is suspiciously unclear how he died. Her fifth husband, Jankyn, is the husband that the reader is provided the most information about and whom she recounts as loving the most out of the five, despite their tumultuous relationship. She notes how she first met him at her friend’s home while still married to her fourth husband and then ended up marrying him a month after her previous husband’s death. Alisoun describes her marriage to Jankyn in detail, noting how their relationship was characterized by his desire to control her and her unwillingness to submit. It is only after a physical confrontation, the cause of which is Alisoun’s desecration of Jankyn’s “book of wikked wyves,” that he gives up his quest to control Alisoun. This is symbolized by his returning of her property (which she gave to him out of love). They live in harmony until Jankyn’s death. Thus, the Wife of Bath’s Prologue is one woman’s take on marriage based, as she says at the start, on her own “experience.”

Themes of the Prologue

Antifeminism/Sources

It is crucial for any reader of the Wife of Bath’s Prologue to understand that it is working within the tradition of antifeminism. As Helen Cooper notes, Alisoun’s “materials are part of the vast medieval stock of antifeminism” (Cooper 1996: 141), specifically St. Jerome’s Adversus Jovinianum, which was “[…] written to refute the proposition put forward by one Jovinianus that virginity and marriage were of equal worth” (Cooper 1996: 141). The simple fact that Alison is a widow who remarries more than once suggests she is an embodiment of antifeminist beliefs. Further evidence of this can be found through Alisoun’s observation: “For hadde God comanded maydenhede, / Thanne hadde he dampned weddyng with the dede” (III 69-70). Alisoun refutes Jovinianus’ proposition concerning virginity and marriage by noting that God would have condemned marriage and procreation if He had commanded virginity. Her decision to use God as a defense of sorts for her promiscuity is significant, as it shows how the Bible is another source that Alisoun draws upon, although her interpretations of Scripture, such as St. Paul’s view on marriage (III. 158-161), are tailored to suit her own purpose (Cooper 1996: 144). In addition, while it is quite obvious that Alisoun is an embodiment of antifeminist beliefs, it may be less obvious that she is also someone who resists them as well. For instance, her repeated acts of remarriage are an example of how she mocks “[…] clerical teaching[s] concerning the remarriage of widows” (Carruthers 1979: 213). In actual fact, as noted by Mary Carruthers, “a rich widow was considered to be a match equal to, or more desirable than, a match with a virgin of property” (Carruthers 1979: 213). Alisoun illustrates this point by describing her ability to remarry four times, and also to attract a man who is much younger than she, Jankyn. Thus, while Alisoun is portrayed as epitomizing antifeminist traditions through her very thoughts and actions, she also attacks them, in part by forcing readers to realize that it is men, including the author Chaucer, who construct them in the first place. Antifeminism refers to the disbelief in or opposition to the economic, political and social equality of women. ...

Proper Behaviour in Marriage

Mary Carruthers and Helen Cooper reflect on the way that Alisoun, in particular, does not behave as she should in any of her marriages. Through Alisoun’s nonconformance to the expectations of her role as a wife, the audience is shown what proper behaviour in marriage should be like. Carruthers’ essay outlines the existence of deportment books, the purpose of which was to teach young women how to be model wives. Carruthers notes how Alisoun’s behaviour in the first of her marriages “[...] is almost everything the deportment-book writers say it should not be” (Carruthers 1979: 213). For example, she lies to her old husbands about them getting drunk and saying some regrettable things (III.380-382). Yet, Carruthers does note that the Wife does do a decent job of upholding her husbands’ public honour. Moreover, deportment books taught girls that “the husband deserves control of the wife because he controls the estate” (Carruthers 1979:214); it is clear that Alisoun is the one who controls her husbands in her various marriages. Perhaps this is because of the fact that her first three husbands are so old “that for syk unnethes myghte they stonde” (III.394). Helen Cooper also notes that behaviour in marriage is a theme that emerges in the Wife of Bath’s Prologue, and although she does look at the character of Alisoun and notes how she did not really exhibit the behaviour expected of her, she also describes Jankyn. Cooper notes how Jankyn “[...] cannot be taken as any principle of correct Christian marriage” (Cooper 1996:149). He, too, does not exhibit the kind of behaviour that he is supposed to within his marriage, which can perhaps be attributed to his young age and lack of experience in relationships, although he does change at the end, as does Alisoun. Thus, through Alisoun’s and Jankyn’s failure to conform to expected behaviour in marriage, readers are taught to realize what proper behaviour in marriage likely is–the opposite of Alisoun’s and Jankyn’s.

Female Dominance

As Helen Cooper argues, the theme of female dominance is fundamental to the Wife of Bath’s Prologue. The Wife’s dominance is highlighted in terms of sexual dominance. It is quite clear that she is the one who is the master of the bedroom based on the comments that she makes to her fellow pilgrims. For instance, she notes that:

Unnethe myghte they the statut holde

In which that they were bounden unto me.

Ye woot wel what I meene of this, pardee!

As help me God, I laughe whan I thynke

How pitously a-nyght I made hem swynke! (III.204-208)

The manner in which Alisoun describes how she made her husbands labour, “swynke,” for her pleasure reminds one of the relative situations of men and lords. Alisoun’s husbands are depicted as peasants who must cater to her sexual appetite. Her characterization as master, or sovereign lord, is particularly evident in the following passage:

Of tribulacion in mariage,

Of which I am expert in al myn age –

This is to seyn, myself have been the whippe. (III.179-181)

The image of the whip solidifies her role as master; she tells everyone that she is the one in charge in her household, especially in the bedroom. Alisoun appears to have an insatiable thirst for sex; the result is a satirical, sexualized depiction of a woman, but also of feudal power arrangements.

Economics of Love

In her essay, “The Wife of Bath and the Painting of Lions,” Mary Carruthers describes the relationship that existed between love and economics for both medieval men and women. Carruthers notes that it is the independence that Alisoun’s wealth provides for her that allows Alisoun to love freely (Carruthers 1979:216). This implies that autonomy is an important component in genuine love, and since autonomy can only be achieved through wealth, wealth then becomes the greatest component for true love. Love can, in essence, be bought: Chaucer makes reference to this notion when he has Alisoun tell one of her husbands:

Is it for ye wolde have my queynte allone?

Wy, taak it al! Lo, have it every deel!

Peter! I shrewe yow, but ye love it weel;

For if I wolde selle my bele chose,

I koude walke as fressh as is a rose;

But I wol kepe it for youre owene tooth. (III.450-455)

She appears to make reference to prostitution, whereby “love” in the form of sex is a “deal” bought and sold. Alisoun’s use of words such as “dette (debt)” (III.130) and “paiement (payment)” (III.131) also portray love in economic terms, as did the medieval Church: sex was the marriage debt women owed to the men that they married. Hence, while the point that Carruthers makes is that money is necessary for women to achieve sovereignty in marriage, a look at the text reveals that the concept of love is, among other things, an economic concept. This is perhaps best demonstrated by the fact that Jankyn gives up wealth in return for love, honour, and respect.

Sex and Lollardy

While it is quite obvious that sexuality is a dominant theme in The Wife of Bath’s Prologue, it is less obvious that Alisoun’s sexual behaviour can be associated with Lollardy. Critics such as Helen Cooper and Carolyn Dinshaw point to the link between sex and Lollardy. Both describe Alisoun’s knowledge and use of Scripture in her justification of her sexual behaviour. This associates her with Lollardy. When Alisoun states that “God bad us for to wexe and multiplye” (III.28), she appears to suggest that there is nothing wrong with sexual promiscuity, because God wants humans to procreate. Alisoun’s “[...] emphatic determination to recuperate sexual activity within a Christian context and on the authority of the Bible [on a number of occasions throughout the text] echoes one of the points made in the Lollard Twelve Conclusions of 1395" (Cooper 1996:150). The very fact that she remarries after the death of her first husband could be viewed as Chaucer’s characterization of Alisoun as a supporter of Lollardy, if not necessarily a Lollard herself, since Lollards advocated the remarriage of widows (Cooper 1996:150; Dinshaw 1999:129). John Wyclif gives his Bible translation to Lollards Lollardy or Lollardry was the political and religious movement of the Lollards from the late 14th century to early in the time of the English Reformation. ...

Inversion of Norms

It can be argued that much, if not all, of The Wife of Bath’s Prologue is an inversion of norms, or that it, at the very least, deals with this theme on some level. Alisoun’s dominance and sexuality are definitely inverted norms. Her aggressiveness towards Jankyn when she rips a few of the pages from his book and punches him is an inverted norm. Carolyn Dinshaw argues that the presence of the queer Pardoner in The Wife of Bath’s Prologue also represents an inversion of norms. As Carolyn Dinshaw notes, Chaucer “[...] has the Wife naturalize ‘the body’ as specifically heterosexual [...]” (Dinshaw 1999:131). Consequently, the Pardoner’s homosexuality is made to seem unnatural, and thus, an inversion of the perceived norm of heterosexuality. Why Chaucer chooses to invert so many norms in the Wife’s Prologue is debatable, but maybe he is suggesting something about the way in which individuals view the world. Perhaps Chaucer wanted people to question why norms exist and in what ways they are vulnerable to inversion and change. Or perhaps Chaucer just wanted to have a little fun with a commonplace character like the Wife, as an antitype of female deportment or antifeminist exemplum, and then to show that she is not so commonplace after all.

"The Wife of Bath's Tale"

Her tale begins with an allusion to the absence of fairies in modern day and their prevalence in King Arthur's time. She then starts in on her tale though she interrupts and is interrupted several times throughout the telling, creating several digressions. A knight in King Arthur's court rapes a woman in a corn field. By law, his punishment is death, but the queen intercedes on his behalf, and the king turns the knight over to her for judgement. The queen punishes the knight by sending him out on a quest to find out what women really want "more than anything else," giving him a year and a day to discover it and having his word that he will return. If he fails to satisfy the queen with his answer, he forfeits his life. He searches, but every woman he finds says something different, from riches to flattery. A bronze Arthur in plate armour with visor raised and with jousting shield wearing Kastenbrust armour (early 15th century) by Peter Vischer, typical of later anachronistic depictions of Arthur. ...

On his way back to the queen after failing to find the truth, he sees four and twenty ladies dancing. They disappear suddenly, leaving behind an old hag whom he asks for help. She says she'll tell him the answer that will save him if he promises to grant her request at a time she chooses. He agrees and they go back to the court where the queen pardons him after he explains that what women want most is "to have the sovereignty as well upon their husband as their love, and to have mastery their man above." The old woman cries out to him before the court that she saved him and that her reward will be that he takes her as his wife and loves her. He protests, but to no avail, and the marriage takes place the next day.

The old woman and the knight converse about the knight's happiness in their marriage bed and discuss that he is unhappy because she is ugly and low-born. She discourses upon the origins of gentility, as told by Jesus and Dante, and reflects on the origins of poverty. She says he can choose between her being ugly and faithful or beautiful and unfaithful. He gives the choice to her to become whatever would bring the most honour and happiness to her; pleased with the mastery of her husband, she becomes fair and faithful to live with him happily until the end of their days. This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... Dante in a fresco series of famous men by Andrea del Castagno, ca. ...

We wommen han, if that I shal nat lye,

In this matere a queynte fantasye:

Wayte what thyng we may nat lightly have,

Therafter wol we crie al day and crave.

Forbede us thyng, and that desiren we;

Preesse on us faste, and thanne wol we fle.

Themes of the Tale

The tale utilizes the "loathly lady" motif, the oldest examples of which are the medieval Irish sovereignty myths like that of Niall of the Nine Hostages. Arthur's nephew Gawain goes on a nearly identical quest to discover what women truly want in the medieval poem The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle, and the ballad "The Marriage of Sir Gawain", a retelling of the same story. The usual formula is simply that the woman will be a hag during the day and a beautiful woman at night. Where "The Wife's Tale" differs from these stories is the initial rape and his emphasis on faithfulness and the redemptive decision of the knight. The knight's decision of faithfulness or fairness, his choice of the most honourable option, and then his eventual reward for making the right choice, displays his chivalrous nature. Both the tale and the Wife of Bath's prologue deal with the question of who has control in relationships between men and women. The loathly lady is a common literary device used in medieval literature, most famously in Geoffrey Chaucers The Wife of Baths Tale. ... Niall of the Nine Hostages (Irish: Niall Noigíallach) was a High King of Ireland who was active in the early-to-mid 5th century, dying - according to the latest estimates - around 450-455. ... Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Gawain (Gwalchmei, Gawan, Gauvain, Walewein etc. ... The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle is one of several versions of the loathly lady story popular during the Middle Ages; an earlier version appears as The Wife of Baths Tale in Geoffrey Chaucers The Canterbury Tales, [1] and the later folk ballad The Marriage of... The Marriage of Sir Gawain is Child Ballad 31. ... Woman under the Safeguard of Knighthood, allegorical Scene. ...

There are also theories that the Wife's tale was written to ease Chaucer's guilty conscience. It is recorded that in 1380 associates of Chaucer stood surety for an amount equal to half his yearly salary for a charge brought by Cecilia Champaign for "de rapto" rape or abduction; the same view has been taken of his Legend of Good Women, which Chaucer himself describes as a penance. It remains important, however, as with any author, to observe the difference between the author's intentions and the multiplicity of potential meanings in the text. The Legend of Good Women is a poem in the form of a dream vision by Geoffrey Chaucer. ...

References

Carruthers, Mary. “The Wife of Bath and the Painting of Lions.” PMLA (1979), 209-22.

Chaucer, Geoffrey (1987). “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue.” The Riverside Chaucer, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 105-116.

Cooper, Helen (1996). “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue.” Oxford Guides to Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales. New York: Oxford University Press.

Dinshaw, Carolyn (1999). “Good Vibrations: John/Eleanor, Dame Alys, the Pardoner, and Foucault.” Getting Medieval: Sexualities and Communities, Pre- and Postmodern. Durham: Duke University Press.

External links

• Read "The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale" with interlinear translation