Pre-Presentation “The Wife of Bath”

Pre-Presentation "The Wife of Bath"

Smiltd Nicolas                                                                                                             11/16/18 “The Wife of Bath” According to ACT 2:17, “God says I will pour out a portion of my spirit upon all flesh”. Also, God created man his likeness and image and women out of the rib of man. Therefore, one can infer that men and women were created equal. Based on history and modern events, that may not always be the case. In the “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale” of the (Canterbury Tales) medieval times portrayed the different roles men and women are supposed to play. Men can wed any woman they choose and a number of women they choose to be with. The Wife of Bath questioned this very logic. So if men can do this, why can’t women do the same; hence being married 5 times from the age of twelve? Because of this, her experiences, brought out a way of life to be bold, to speak freely. Alison, her name rather not be called but Wife of Bath, seemed as though she wanted control of her life. In this tale, the word sovereignty is mentioned quite often. The definition is. sovereignty is supreme power or authority. Why would a woman in marriage would want supreme power and authority over love and happiness? One can guess that maybe there was never any love between the two people in the first place. At that time, women can only be what men allowed them to be which were wives, maidens, and widows. If a woman was not subjected to be in either of those categories, you were deemed unfit for society. By growing old, losing her beauty as well her virginity, not having any kids, all five of her husbands die either from old age or mysteriously, she felt the right to speak freely and move accordingly to her liking. Knowing she had to be married anyway, Alison used her beauty as well as her reproductive counterparts to maybe become this sovereign she demands. Her keenness, witty words, and reference of biblical scriptures made her toy with her past husbands. One can see in her mind that her husband was bound to die and leave their riches to her. All Alison had to do was out live them, relate to herself as a king that can have many wives, and do as she please as a way to gain control of her life due to the double standard of society. “By God, if women had written stories, like clerks do within their oratories, they would have written of men more wickedness” (line 700, page 697) To her men were mean, could do as they please, and were able to beat women without any repercussion. Though that time was bad for women because they barely had a say in anything that statement may not be 100% true. The history of Eve luring Adam to bite the apple from the tree, Hercules dying from his wife’s poisoned cloak, wives slaying their husbands in bed, and the tragic death Agamemnon by his wife can make one believe women are more wicked. Again, to how God created us, there is an equal chance that both men and women are wicked towards each other.   What do you think about Alison relating her double standard experience of marriages and of other iconic men of the Bible?