Chaucer's Character, the Wife of Bath, is a very unique woman during the Middle Ages. She takes pride in the knowledge of the remedies of love, she wears elaborate clothing, and she has gone to the altar five times. A lesson of domination and submission can be learned from the Wife of Bath and her relationship with each of the five men. The characterization and development of the Wife of Bath, as seen in the "General Prologue" and her individual prologue, are similar to the theme of the tale she tells.
The tale that the Wife of Bath shares begins with a scenario illustrating complete domination. When a man has complete domination over a woman, he misuses that power. In the tale, the knight raped a maiden. This situation is similar to that of the Wife of Bath and her first three husbands. She had all the power and domination over her husbands. They were constantly trying to satisfy her lust. She believed that the only way she could he happy was if she had complete sovereignty over her husbands. However, a rela
As the wife develops, he enters into a relationship where the powers of both dominance and submission are absent. She believes that her relationship can be successful with out these two characteristics. Yet, she is leaving out another important quality of a wonderful relationship: giving. This aspect of a relationship is also evident with the knight and the hag. When they are first wed to each other, neither one is happy. They are living together separately. They are indifferent to each other. A happy relationship will never result from a situation where spouses are not willing to give and become dependent on one another.
tionship in which one member takes complete domination never results in happiness.
The development and growth of the Wife of Bath have a direct correlation to the knight and the hag. The theme of the Wife's tale is one of dominance and submission. Only when the dominant person has the strength to give back to the relationship and make it mutual, can it be real love with either person hap
All papers and essays are for research and reference purposes only!
Copyright 2002-2009
Direct Essays , LLC. All Rights Reserved. DMCA Webmasters make $$$$