All Quiet on the Western Front

A detailed Summary of All Quiet on the Western Front

Geoffrey Chaucer was charged with rape by a woman named Cecily Chaumpaigne around the year 1380. It is most likely that a distinguishable character, such as Chaucer would not have been guilty of this charge. However, the word "rape" probably referred to kidnapping rather than assaulting a woman as it means today. Cecily Chaumpaigne in 1380 released Chaucer of all charges of "raptu meo," a phrase that could be interpreted as "seizing me". It is possible that this allegation of rape brought on to Chaucer by Cecily Chaumpaigne, is the very reason behind the Tale of the Wife of Bath.

The wife of Bath is a tough woman with a mind of her own and she is not afraid to speak it. She intimidates men and woman alike due to the strength she possesses. But instead of showing this as a positive characteristic, Chaucer makes her toothless and ugly. However, Chaucer, instead of portraying her low-social class as shameful, Chaucer showed that she is actually prudent and eloquent. Chaucer sympathizes with her because he himself was considered low-class. The wife of Bath has also had five different husbands and countless affairs, thus breaking innocent men*s hearts. Her husbands fell into two categories. The first category of husbands was: rich,

The wife's tale is one of struggle of power and who has the upper hand in any relationship. The wife clearly in her relationships enjoyed having the power and control of her husbands. The knight did seek what women desire most, and that is power. When someone has power over someone else than they also have control.

The word rape is often promoted by the wife throughout the story. The king in the wife's tale represents authority. The king would have inflicted punishment on the knight. The queen on the other hand would have commuted his sentence to rape him back, "An eye for an eye." The conclusion is triumph of her theme, tyranny. The wife is the rapist knight herself. The wife having created the knight and theme of rape is a perpetual self-rapist. There is a gentle irony in the wife's tale. Her tale is of the antifeminist clich*? that all women in their hearts desire to be raped.

The wife of Bath is a very envious women, who desires only a few simple things in life. She likes to make mirror images of herself, through her stories, which in some way reflects the person who she really is. This is all proven through the many ways she portrays her characters.

In conclusion, the wife longs what every woman wants in a relationship; power. Because of this desire for power she becomes jealous of the hag, whom she identifies with. She wishes that even though she is ugly, as the hag is, she can have the power that the hag has. That she may be given from her partner the power to make the decisions and the choices and not have that taken away from her.

Chaucer portrays the Wife of Bath as a feminist. Early in The Wife of Bath, there is a quotation said by the wife of Bath supporting the idea that she is feministic. "I don't deny that

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Approximate Word count = 1174
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English