Summary
Summary The Wife of Bath: Context
- Module
- Unit 3 - Poetry (9ET0)
- Institution
- PEARSON (PEARSON)
The Wife of Bath: Context
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ContextGeoffrey Chaucer:
Lived from1340-1400, was the son of a prosperous wine merchant, and was a page
(apprentices) to John of Gaunt and courtier (a companion/advisor to royalty). He was briefly
in the military, was captured in 1360, and ransomed. This was a testament to his value to the
state.
He lived through the Black Death and the Peasants Revolt (his house was actually very near
where it was), as well as the disposition (removal) of Richard II. He lived for the entire reign
of Richard II. He also saw the end of Edward’s II reign and the beginning of Henry IV,
meaning he saw a lot of change in who was on the throne. His lifetime was one of a lot of
political and topical subjects, perfect for something like the Canterbury Tales.
He became a Justice of the Peace for Kent and Knight of the Shine. His career stagnated a bit
when John of Gaunt went to Spain, but when he came back Chaucer was promoted to high
office.
He was the 1st to be buried in the Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey, and 1st writer of note
to produce substantial work in a form of English that we can recognise today. Knows as the
‘Father of English Literature.’
Highly educated in Latin, French, and Italian. He was greatly inspired by Italian writer
Boccaccio, and specifically his work Decaneron. This work uses the same linking devise of
people telling stories to each other; however, the people are the higher class who are in the
countryside to try and avoid the Black Death.
Chaucer went on a pilgrimage before writing the Canterbury tales and was also in dept a lot.
He was very bookish, claiming to own 60 books. He wrote a varied amount of work, but the
most celebrated was the Canterbury Tales. It was started in 1380 but never finished. It
discussed debates on topical subjects of people of all classes.
General 14th Century Context:
Women:
Women were either virgins, widows, or wives (in that order). Widows held an interesting
position in society, as they could inherit their husband’s land and money, meaning they were
desirable partners as the land/money would then become her new husbands. However, a
widow who remained chaste also received respect.
A woman was legally owned by her husband. Once they were married, she was unable to
resist a man’s sexual advances, cannot use money without his consent or make a will.
Women were blamed for all of the physical, intellectual and moral weaknesses of society.
This is mainly due to the huge influence of Catholicism at the time and the idea that it was
Eve who first convinced man to take a bite from the forbidden fruit.
Chaucer himself pointed out that the Bible ‘is a text wherein we find that woman was the ruin
of mankind’.
, He also said ‘What is better than wisdom? Woman. And what is better than a good woman?
Nothing.’ We should be open to the possibility that he may have meant the first quotation
sarcastically. The question of whether Chaucer was anti-women or not is something that
looms over the Wife of Bath as a character.
It was widely believed that women need to have sexual intercourse regularly due to their
wondering wombs, as otherwise their ‘seed’ may ‘coagulate and suffocate their womb, thus
men were told than women were always aching to have sex with them, and at the same time
women were led to believe that they are the physical manifestations of lust. Thus, marriage
was seen as an essential means controlling lust.
Rape was illegal (although legal within the context of the marriage. In fact, it was taken
seriously enough to be deemed one of the crimes that can only be dealt with by the King’s
justices.” However, according to the Galen (a third century writer) women could only
conceive if they reached orgasm. This view was still the commonly held one during the 14th
century. This meant that if a woman became pregnant as a result of rape, then it would be
surmised that she enjoyed the experience and that the man was, as a result, not guilty. Rapes
which did not result in conception often led to a situation we often find in today’s dealings
with the crime, that it is his word against his.
Women in some contexts could have some power. The Prioress was the most powerful
person in the nunnery, some lower-class women found success weaving, châtelain’s were
women who ran entire households and estates, and some women had to take over family
businesses.
Marriage and Relationships:
A man could legally beat his wife. However, she may accuse him in a church court of cruelty,
for beating her too much, and have the court force him to mend his ways. However, it could
work the other way around, as no court would have sympathised with a man so feeble that he
cannot defend himself against his own wife.
Husbands also had to be secretive about their wives cheating on them, as if a man wants to
take legal action against his wife for adultery, he has to admit he is a cuckold, and in so doing
he may make himself appear ridiculous.
A husband owning his wife also could get him into trouble. If she, or if they together,
committed a crime that was a hanging offence, only the husband would hang. The wife
simply had to plead that she was obeying her husband’s orders.
The legal age of marriage for women was 12, although most couples did not start living
together until she is fourteen. Most girls of good birth were married by sixteen. However, the
majority of the population did not have the financial means to live independently until their
mid-twenties. It could be said that whilst the Wife of Bath’s first marriage, at the age of
twelve, wasn’t illegal it may have seemed young to a medieval audience as well as a modern
one.
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