Essay

“I nam nat precius”: An Analysis of the Statement of the Wife of Bath Through Character and Context

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Course
ENG202 (ENG202)

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University Of Toronto (U Of T )

ENG202 philological essay on Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" for the University of Toronto. The essay received an A as the final grade in 2023.

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Uploaded on June 1, 2024
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Type Essay
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Grade A

eng202
chaucer
geoffrey chaucer
literary analysis
literature
english
english essay
philological essay
the canterbury tales
canterbury tales
wife of bath
theresa tinkle
med
oed

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‭ENG 202‬ ‭1‬

‭“I nam nat precius”:‬‭An Analysis of the Statement of the Wife of Bath Through Character and Context‬

‭The Canterbury Tales‬‭are a collection of tales written‬‭and circulated by Geoffrey Chaucer‬

‭between 1387-1400, one of which includes the Wife of Bath’s prologue. In the Broadview publication‬

‭edition of this text,‬‭The Canterbury Tales: A Selection‬‭(published in 2012), the word‬‭precius‬‭is used once‬

‭in line 148, where the Wife of Bath, after comparing virgins to “wyves” (144) such as her, states: “‬‭In‬

‭swich estaat as God hath cleped us/ I wol persevere; I nam nat precius‬‭” (147-148). In this particular‬‭version,‬

‭editors Robert Boenig and Andrew Taylor define the word‬‭precius‬‭as‬‭fastidious‬‭in its footnotes. However,‬

‭this definition contradicts the context of the usage of the word, namely the characteristics of‬

‭‘fastidiousness’ that the Wife of Bath demonstrates throughout the prologue, where she demonstrates her‬

‭ability as an exegete. Thus, the footnote indirectly discredits this ability by implying that the Wife of‬

‭Bath’s exegesis of the Bible—that remarriage and lack of chastity are not condemnable by scripture—is‬

‭“not fastidious”, and instead deriving from its opposite: inaccuracy and inattentiveness. Instead, this essay‬

‭will provide evidence that the word’s definition is instead of entry 1a) of the Middle English Dictionary:‬

‭“Valuable, precious; of great worth, costly; also, rare” (preciǒus(e, 1(a)) rather than “having exacting‬

‭standards or paying meticulous attention to detail” (OED, fastidious, 3.a.).‬

‭Theresa Tinkle, in her chapter of Volume 32 of the publication “Studies in the Age of Chaucer,”‬

‭titled “The Wife of Bath's Marginal Authority,” investigates various glossed manuscripts to argue that “a‬

‭scribal consensus emerges in the fifteenth century” where “most of the biblical glosses endorse the Wife’s‬

‭authority as an exegete” (72), thus supporting the idea of the Wife of Bath as a reliable biblical expert.‬

‭The Wife of Bath, throughout the prologue as well as her tale, is characterised as a well-read individual,‬

‭which is demonstrated by the wide range and number of allusions she provides.‬‭1‬ ‭The particular allusions‬

‭that the Wife of Bath uses as proof towards her exegesis are not only those that support her claim, but also‬

‭those that others have told her in refutation of it, and it is the Wife of Bath’s “meticulous attention to‬

‭1‬
‭Consisting of both biblical and not: the Cana of Galilee (11), the story of the Samaritan (15-19), Salomon (35-36),‬
‭Lamech (54), Abraham (55), Jacob (56), Paul (52, 64-74, 79), the Almagest of Ptolemy (183), and more.‬

, ‭2‬

‭detail” that lends her the ability to use both to support her exegesis. That is, the Wife of Bath‬

‭demonstrates the lack of “expres word” in scripture by which “God forbad marriage” (60-61), thus‬

‭disproving the refutation, whilst providing proof (which is comparatively more detailed) towards her own‬

‭interpretation, proving it as more reliable as its evidence is less ambiguous. Thus, the lack of accurate and‬

‭precise condemnation of remarriage is her main argument.‬

‭After challenging the company to tell her the “expres word” “that hye God defended mariage‬

‭[and]. . . comanded he virginitee” (59-62), as “Men may devyne and glosen, up and doun” (26). She‬

‭narrates the story of where “Jhesus, God and man/ Spak in repreeve of the Samaritan” (15-16) stating that‬

‭her current, fifth partner was not her husband, the Wife of Bath addresses the fact that there is no direct‬

‭mention to the reason why it is so, as well as the exact number of husbands a wife may have, which could‬

‭only then be accepted as proof. Thus, the wife of Bath presents and applies an “exacting standard” (OED,‬

‭fastidious, 3.a.), towards what can be accepted as evidence and what cannot. The Wife of Bath then‬

‭provides various examples of virtuous biblical figures that had multiple wives (including Solomon (35),‬

‭Abraham (55), Jacob (56)), and the words of the Apostle St. Paul: “Bet is to be wedded than to brynne”‬

‭(52) and a direct quote: “God bad us for to wexe and multiplye;” (28), providing proof that passes the‬

‭“exacting standard” and contrasting these proofs to the ambiguity of biblical stories commonly used‬

‭against remarriage.‬

‭Further, the Wife of Bath’s general authority and influence as an exegete as asserted by Tinkle can‬

‭also proved diegetically, where the Pardoner, after listening to the Wife of Bath’s speech, calls her a‬

‭“noble prechour” (165), as well as deciding that he would not want to marry after being told that wives‬

‭are to have power over their husbands bodies (158-159). Thus, the footnote of editors Boenig and Taylor‬

‭incorrectly discredits the proficiencies of the Wife of Bath as an exegete who forms and supports her‬

‭assertions through both “meticulous attention to detail” and “exacting standards” (OED, fastidious, 3.a.).‬

‭Instead, the proposed definition of the word‬‭precius‬‭as “valuable, precious; of great worth, costly;‬

‭also, rare” (preciǒus(e, 1(a)) is more contextually befitting. After stating that she is “nat precius” (148),‬

‭the Wife of Bath goes on to proclaim that she will not be chaste, and “use myn instrument/ As frely as my‬

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