The Wife of Bath

1. The WifeofBath “A portraitof a wordly, dynamic and passionate woman”

2. INTRODUCTION The WifeofBathdecided to go on the pilgrimage becauseitwas a chance tosocialize, tomeetnew people, togive a rest. Sheloved company and shewasabletoentertain everyone. Hernamewas Dame Alice and camefromBath, a romanbritishtown. Shewas a widow and representedearthlyqualities. The Wife of Bath ignored the sacramental aspect of marriage: Chaucer mentionsed that she has been married five times and has had innumerable affairs in her youth.

3. The GeneralPrologue –(Original Text) A good WYF was ther of bisyde But she was som-del deef, and that was scathe. Of clooth-making she hadde swiche an haunt, She passed hem of Ypres and of Gaunt. In al the parisshe wyf ne was ther noon That to the offring bifore hir sholde goon; And if ther dide, certeyn, so wrooth was she, That she was out of alle charitee. Hir coverchiefs ful fyne were of ground; I dorste swere they weyeden ten pound That on a Sonday were upon hir heed. Hir hosen weren of fyn scarlet reed, Ful streite y-teyd, and shoos ful moiste and newe. Bold was hir face, and fair, and reed of hewe. She was a worthy womman al hir lyve, Housbondes at chirche-dore she hadde fyve, Withouten other companye in youthe; But therof nedeth nat to speke as nouthe. And thryes hadde she been at Ierusalem; She hadde passed many a straunge streem; At Rome she hadde been, and at Boloigne, In Galice at seint Iame, and at Coloigne. She coude muche of wandring by the weye. Gat-tothed was she, soothly for to seye. Upon an amblere esily she sat, Y-wimpled wel, and on hir heed an hat As brood as is a bokeler or a targe; A foot-mantel aboute hir hipes large, And on hir feet a paire of spores sharpe. In felawschip wel coude she laughe and carpe. Of remedyes of love she knew per-chaunce, For she coude of that art the olde daunce.

5. Red Colour: Analysis • Red is a vibrant colour and it was the colour that the narrator associated with the Wife. Her “hose” was “of finest scarlet red” and her bold face was “red in hue”. These details added to the sense that Chaucer was describing a figure who attracted and demanded attention. Red was the colour of the passion and lust. • The narrator also noticed that the Wife’s large hat was “as brood as is a buckler or a shield” (as broad as a shield, or as a large shield). Again her dress or equipment became a sign of her sense of her own importance and her dominance. 

6. Clothing “Her kerchiefs were of finely woven ground” “Her hose were of the finest scarlet red and gartered tight; her shoes were soft and new.” “Well wimpled up, and on her head a hat as broad as is a buckler or a shield.” Clothing was important in the narrator’s description of the Wife. He drew attention to the fine fabric of her ‘kerchiefs’ (her head-dress) and Speculated on the heavy head-dress that she wore in church on a Sunday. We could well suspect that this was a woman who was displaying her wealth and sense of importance of fabric that she wore.

7. Abilities • The Wife was a confident rider. She sat comfortably on “a horse”. This suggested her desire for power and control. She had a manageable, not particularly fast, horse, but the “heels spurred” could enable her to drive it on to keep up with the company. • Her actions might, at first seem, be a rebellion against the male-dominated society in The Canterbury Tales, and more generally, the medieval period for women. It’s a example of a revolutionary women of her time.

8. Economic skills: • “In making cloth she showed so great a bend” so she was very good at making clothes; she was a cloth maker. Social skills: • “And she had thrice been to Jerusalem, seen many strange rivers and passed over them; she’d been to Rome and also to Boulogne, St James of Compostella and Cologne, and she was skilled in wandering by the way” this suggested that she also liked to travel which was suspicious for a woman in the Middle Ages. The fact that the Wife of Bath had been on so many pilgrimages might be indicative of her piety, and yet, the reader senses Chaucer's irony in the geographical description of the places. • “In company she liked to laugh and chat and knew the remedies for love’s mischances, an art in which she knew the oldest dances” so she was very entertaining and she loved staying with people. Her knowledge about the remedies of love was probably a reference to Ovid’s “Remediaamoris". The irony was in her knowledge of “Remediaamoris" rather than "ArsAmatoria".

9. Phisicaldescription “she had gap teeth”, “large hips’’, “bold was her face”, “handsome” “red in hue” These phisical aspects referred to the beautiful woman’s idea. “gap teeth” was a sign of love and passion to other men. The description suggested a sensual woman who cared about earthly pleasures.