Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale

Introduction

The "Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale" was written at a time when the social structure of England was evolving, allowing for a merchant class to emerge of which the Wife of Bath is a prime example. The story provides insight on women's roles in the Late Middle Ages when they could occupy only three stations in society: maiden, widow or wife. The Wife of Bath is unique in this context: as a childless widow, she has inherited her husbands' wealth (as property was passed down to sons even if their mothers were still alive) which allows for more autonomy than other women of the time. The character in this story was one of Chaucer's most developed with the prologue almost twice as long as the actual tale itself; it is remembered as one of the best-known in the collection. She calls herself "Alys" and "Alyson" though this is also the name of a friend she references and various other characters throughout the Tales which causes confusion for students and scholars alike.

Prologue

In the Prologue, we learn some important information about the Wife of Bath, namely that she has been married five times and therefore will be speaking about "wo that is in mariage." She quickly recounts her first three marriages, to older men, starting at age twelve. Her fourth marriage was to a philanderer who she repaid by making him believe she, too, had been unfaithful. The fifth marriage is to a younger man, Jankyn, who is physically abusive (his beatings leave her deaf in one ear) and an unrepentant misogynist; they get into a heated argument when she tears some pages from his copy of the "Book of Wikked Wyves" though, after this, he concedes his power to her in the relationship. She is then interrupted by the Friar who complains of the "long preamble" she has provided. As a widow five times over, she would have been seen as a "loathly lady"-a woman who remarries in order to satisfy her sexual desires (something the Church equated with bigamy at the time). But the Wife of Bath knows the stories of many holy men who have had multiple wives and her adept appeal to the Scriptures puts her in direct conflict with the teachings of clerics. In her opinion, her history of multiple marriages has made her an expert on marital relations, and certainly more so than celibate, male clergy. The Wife of Bath argues, above all, that women are morally identical to men which contradicts the prevailing double standard of her era.