The Pardoner interrupts, worried
because he is about to be married
. The Wife of Bath tells him to shut up and have another drink: when she, the expert in marriage, has told him her tale, he will be able to make his own decision about whether or not he should marry.
Who does the Wife of Bath begin her tale by insulting?
The Summoner
, who seems to dislike the Friar on principle, criticizes him for interrupting. Both men promise to tell tales insulting of one another's professions when it's their turn to speak, prompting the Host to cry for peace and give the stage back to the Wife, who agrees at this point to begin her tale.
What is ironic about the Wife of Bath?
Chaucer uses irony and satire to challenge the church's oppression of women by
allowing the Wife of Bath to speak freely about sex, marriage and women's desires
. Chaucer develops her character, gap-toothed, earthy old hag, who is honest, witty and funny.
Why did the Wife of Bath love her fifth husband the most?
That Wife of Bath states that Jankyn, her fifth husband, was her favorite—largely
because he was so good in bed
. She proposes to him that they get married after her fourth husband dies, and he agrees. Jankyn is different from her other husbands. He is younger than she is and poor.
What made problems in the Wife of Bath's fourth marriage?
What made problems in the Wife of Bath's fourth marriage? The problems
she had was anger, jealousy, and he a mistress
.
What is the Wife of Bath's personality?
The Wife of Bath is
a headstrong bold woman of her time
. She shows off her Sunday clothes with evident pride, wearing ten pounds of cloth, woven by herself under her hat. Her clothing symbolizes to the reader that she is not timid or shy and also shows off her expertise as a weaver..
The Wife of Bath is considered to be in
the middle-class group of Pilgrims
. This is because of her exploitative behaviors and her attitude that a woman rules. She had five husbands and dominated each of them, the last one being half her age.
What is the main point of the Wife of Bath's Tale?
The tale concerns
a knight accused of rape
, whose life shall be spared if in one year he discovers what women most desire. He eventually turns to an ugly old witch who promises him the answer that will save his life if he will do the first thing she asks of him.
Which husband did the Wife of Bath say she loved the best?
The Wife tells us that
Jankyn
was the husband she loved best, despite the fact that he beat her and, when they were first married, refused to bow to her authority.
What was the result of the fight between the Wife of Bath and her fifth husband?
What was the result of the fight between the Wife of Bath and her fifth husband?
They lived happily ever after. She killed him
.
Why is the Wife of Bath called?
Although Chaucer calls the woman the Wife of Bath, her husband's name is not Bath; instead she lives in Bath. She is actually
a seamstress
, well-known for her work and likely wealthy in her own right. The Wife of Bath's clothes provide evidence of this wealth.
How did the Wife of Bath's fourth husband died?
The Wife of Bath begins her description of her two “bad” husbands. … Realizing that she has digressed, she returns to the story of her fourth husband. She confesses that she was his purgatory on Earth, always trying to make him jealous. He died while she was on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
How does the Wife of Bath's tale end?
The Wife of Bath concludes with
a plea that Jesus Christ send all women husbands who are young, meek, and fresh in bed
, and the grace to outlive their husbands.
What does the Wife of Bath's Tale reveal about her?
The Wife of Bath's story obviously reveals
her own personality and her desire for sex
. She is obviously a very lustful woman who has a preoccupation with sex.
What does the Wife of Bath value?
“The Wife of Bath's Tale” shows her values
— that as long as she has sovereignty over her sixth husband they will live happily
, making love every day (since it is hard to imagine that the Wife of Bath would want a man for anything besides that).
What does widowhood represent to the Wife of Bath?
Although a widow, the Wife of Bath by her very name clearly represents
the feminine Estate of “Wife
.” Both her Prologue and her Tale offer an experience-based refutation of the literary authorities' misogynistic (anti-women) and misogamous (anti-marriage) viewpoints symbolized by her fifth husband Jenkin's Book of …
