The Canterbury Tales: The Wif

A detailed Summary of The Canterbury Tales: The Wif

The only two women described in great detail in The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer, are the Prioress and the Wife of Bath. These two women appear similar in the General Prologue of the poem but, as we see through their tales, they are quite unique women and most importantly very different from one another. The initial similarity between these two women lies in their appearance but as the poem continues on we see that their life experience and their manner and personality vary greatly from one another.

In the general prologue Chaucer describes both the Prioress and the Wife of Bath in detail. Based on his physical description of these two women alone the reader would be lead to believe they are similar in their stature. The Prioress is described to be nicely dressed, "Her clock, I noticed had a graceful charm"(23). Chaucer also states that "she wore a coral trinket on her arm,/ A set of beads, the gaudies tricked in green"(23). These descriptions of the Prioress tell us that she has great pride in her appearance. Likewise, the Wife of Bath is described in the same manner. Chaucer states that "Her kerchiefs were of finely woven ground"(31) and "Her hose were of the finest scarlet

Overall, the Prioress and the Wife of Bath are much more different then they are alike. In contrast to the similarity of their outer appearance, these two women are very different in their life experiences, and their manner and personality. The Wife of Bath is worldlier and has a great amount of experience with men and in business, whereas, the Prioress has lived a life that is primarily confined to the church. The resulting difference in personality is vast. The wife of bath acts with guilelessness and is blunt and manipulative where, on the other hand, the prioress acts phony but is truly polite and kind.

Trust me, they cannot have been made for naught.

The most prominent difference between the Wife of Bath and the Prioress's are their manner and personality. Chaucer shows the Prioress to be phony. She is described by Chaucer "to counterfeit a courtly kind of grace"(23). This description shows the Prioress to put on a front and acts like something she really isn't. She also appears to be kind and gentle and then goes on to tell a tale of Jews murdering a young boy. Her personality and the tale are a contradiction just like her "counterfeit" grace. The Wife of Bath on the other side is frank. She does not try to be something she is not but instead says exactly what's on her mind, "I should speak as fantasy may"(281). She is saying that she "tells it like it is" and openly speaks her mind. This is evident by the following:

Except to know a female from a male,

One of the main differences between these two women is the type and breadth of life experiences they have each gained in the course of their lives. The Wife of Bath was experienced at the art of love and was a fine businesswoman. She was described as having had "five husbands all at the church door"(23), which is all Chaucer describes of her participation in the church. Every time the Wife of Bath marries she gains more experience and knowledge because each husband would yield her "their gold and land"(293). With this gold and land she was able to be a businesswoman and make cloth. All these things contribute to her life experiences and even she acknowledges the vast amount she has acquired when she states "If there were no authority on earth/

Some common words found in the essay are:
Wife Bath, Chaucer Prioress, wife bath, Compostella Cologue, Wife Bath's, life experiences, prioress wife bath, Prioress Wife, Bath Prioress's, prioress wife, chaucer describes, manner personality, describes wife, chaucer describes prioress, exactly what's mind, describes wife bath, blunt manipulative, prioress described, described chaucer, describes prioress, wife bath frank,

Approximate Word count = 1511
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English