The wife of Bath is an interesting women. She has been married since she was 12 to five different men. Because of her experience with relationships, she affirms herself as an expert on marriage. She has been criticized many times for marrying five different people, but she believes it is not a sin. She says that several figures such as Abraham and Jacob had more than one wife, so why can't she have 5 husbands. The others disagree by saying that Jesus told a Samaritan women that her fifth husband was not her husband. She argues that no one knows what this means because men can only try to interpret what scriptures actually mean. Upon reading this, I could not help but imagine that this is what Chaucer thinks. If it is, I agree with him completely. If two people read the same passage in the Bible and gather different conclusions, which one is right? They could both argue their side, but nothing would come of it. They would still believe what they think the passage meant; their beliefs wouldn't change. Because of the different interpretations, it is difficult to prove a point. That is why I think Chaucer wants people to be open minded; because there might be other perceptions. While I agree with the wife of Bath's insight, I definitely don't agree with her relationships.
The wife of Bath states that three of her husbands were good and two of them were bad. The first three were good because they were rich, old, and submissive. When reminiscing, she laughs at all the anguish she put them through. She would accuse them of cheating and lie to them until they felt guilty. She would get whatever she wanted after they believed her. Also, she would tease them sexually until they promised her money. She is a controlling women in every aspect that brags about using her body and lies to get what she wanted. She considered her last two husbands bad because they were not submissive. They acted controlling and demanding and even used the same tricks that she did. Yet, she considers them bad but not herself. She thinks that she is an expert on marriage, but she never realizes that she is the complete opposite. If she says that her last two husbands are bad and they act just like her, then why doesn't she consider herself a bad wife? Relationships are built on trust and honesty, something that she never had with her husbands. She also never compromised with any of them; she just tried to control them. She considers herself an expert, but she only thinks about herself in the relationships. She is extremely selfish.
The wife of Bath is an intelligent women. She is extremely controlling and cunning; using any trick to get what she wants. She often lied to her husbands to make them suffer. She considers the three submissive ones as good and the others bad; indirectly accusing herself as a bad wife. The bad husbands were just like her; therefore making her a bad wife. She considers herself an expert on marriage, but she is wrong. She is only an expert at being selfish.
So, you're saying you don't like her then?
ReplyDeleteOne could argue that the Wife of Bath was simply using the only tools she had to create some sort of equity in a patriarchal society. Those husbands who used her own methods were taking from her the only equalizing force she had. Whether that's a valid argument and one you can accept is up to you, but it's an angle that is at least worth considering.
The Wife of Bath plays as an intelligent woman, it seems to me that she only claims to have only truely loved her fifth husband. As she may play as a selfish woman, maybe it is what she needs to do in order to find secruity in her life. She plays with men only to retrieve something on her end of the bargain. As she claims to often lie in her tale, does that mean we can only interpret the story with a slant perspective? Maybe the whole story was a lie, just so Chaucer can fondle with women's thoughts and how men percieve women....I don't know, I'm just throwing ideas out there.
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