The Wife of Bath

The Wife of Bath is a great woman. As much as I disliked Morte D' Arthur I enjoyed The Wife of Bath's prologue, what a gal! Not only was this woman funny but she was down to earth. She expressed so many of the issues that many of us have today. I thoroughly enjoyed her honesty and her complete lack of tact. The Wife of Bath does not hide any of her past experiences, in fact she points out that if any one knows what marriage should be it's her because she's tried five times. I loved the biblical references (the woman at the well), even though she may have misinterpreted it completely. The Wife is completely honest and who couldn't love her?

I read the Canterbury tales in high school and loved them then. Geoffrey Chaucer could not have written a better critique on society and its values. The Wife of Bath is almost a joke making fun of the idea that a proper woman may have had so many husbands. She does not claim to hide the idea that she married for money the first couple of times, she points out the fact that they were her best marriages - the men were rich and old and would soon die. The next ones were not that easy, but yet they too died.

The Wife of Bath's Prologue has so far been my favorite piece this semester. It was completely enjoyable and quite easy to read, despite the language barrier. It fit very well into the time period in which it was written. The Canterbury Tales as a whole focussed on the religous controversies at the time and on politics. Chaucer used excellent form and pattern. This work fits in well with the others of the time.