Summary
Summary The Wife of Bath: Essay Plans
- Module
- Unit 3 - Poetry (9ET0)
- Institution
- PEARSON (PEARSON)
The Wife of Bath: Essay Plans
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Quick Essay PlansExplore the theme of power and authority in The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale, by
referring to lines 1219-1255 and one other extract of similar length. Relate your discussion to
relevant contextual factors.
1219-1255 would compare well with 785-828 as well as both times the men have power from
authority, yet both give it up for perception, and other are rewarded for this with ‘good’
wives. Overall, power is presented as being easily manipulated, and best in the hands of
women (though just because WOB believes this doesn’t mean Chaucer did).
1. Power comes from authority
785-828 (Passage A): Janekin has written authority, seen in how he would ‘reden on this
cursed book al night,’ with the religious connotations demonstrating Alisoun’s opinion of it.
He would also have legal power over her (context)
Passage B: the Knight does have ownership of his wife, seen in the repeated possessive
pronouns in ‘my lady and my love, and wyf so deer,’ with the polysyndeton emphasising this.
Passage A: Yet Alisoun gains legal power through Janekin’s abuse. ‘He up stirte as dooth a
wood leoun,’ and unlike when this language was used to describe her old husbands in 430,
this has consequences, as ‘he smoot me on the heed that in the floor I lay as I were deed.’ One
could argue that this is Alisoun exaggerating, seeing as she’s proven herself to be an
unreliable narrator, but the fact this is foreshadowed in the General Prologue suggests this
isn’t the case. Yet, the overly dramatic language of ‘O, hastow slain me, false theef?’ with it
almost acting as a parody of the popular courtly love genre shows how Alisoun is using this
moment to gain power. It was illegal to kill your wife, so ‘now wol I die’ makes him scared.
1219-1255 (Passage B): The Loathly Lady has reputational power, although ‘Chese now (…)
oon of thise thinged tweye.’ The confidence in her proposal of the choses, seen through her
straightforward language conveys she has authority over if he’ll be seen as a cuckold. Seeing
as a beautiful wife was seen as both a marker of status and something to fear (context), the
audience would be aware of the difficulty of this choice. Chaucer subverts the traditional
Loathly Lady archetype by giving her choice when to shapeshift.
2. Power is in perception
Passage A: Janekin gives up his power. The polysyndeton in ‘governace of hous and lond,
and of his tonge, and of his hond also’ emphasises the amount he gave to her. In return, he
asks for ‘keep thyn honour, and keep eek mym estaat.’ This preoccupation with maintaining
his status in society, linking it with her ‘honour’ could be a reference to her chastity. Men
who were cuckolds were not looked upon favourably (context). He’s willing to become one
as long as it doesn’t seem that way.
Passage B: It’s important to him, and the one condition with leads him to give up his power.
‘and moost honour to yow and me also’ He gives her ‘maistrie.’ Again, there’s the word
‘honour’ to convey how men were afraid of their wives sleeping around. For that he is also
willing to give her ‘governance.’ Chaucer is writing the tale in the WOB’s voice, so it makes
sense this ending mirrors what she thought of as her best marriage towards the end, and they
, didn’t argue, when the fact she didn’t get the Essex bacon (context) with her other husbands
is a reoccurring theme. She’s aware of men’s preoccupation with their status.
3. Men are rewarded for giving up their power
Passage A: ‘After that day we hadden never debatt (…) I was as kinde as any wyf from
Denmark unto Inde.’ Due to men giving up their power, symbolised by Janekin being made to
‘brenne his book anon right tho’ (with the use of ‘anon’ conveying the speed to which he
complied), they are rewarded by having ‘good’ wives. The shrew archetype was common in
14th century literature, and yet Chaucer is suggesting that this can be overcome by giving
them what they want.
Passage B: The Knight has been criticised for not learning anything, as before making his
decision he ‘sore siketh,’ showing he’s still self-pitying. This problematic portrayal of a rapist
may have been influenced by Chaucer’s own accusation of being one, though this can be
challenged by the sympathetic portrayal of the victim. Regardless of the Knight’s
transgressions, he too is rewarded for giving up power, as the Loathly Lady promises to be
‘good and thewe’ and ‘obeyed him in everything.’ Perhaps this is an antithetical ending, as it
seems he now has the power as she says ‘dooth with my lyf and deth right as yow lest,’
though this is perhaps motivation for the male audience to give up their power.
Explore the role of gender in The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale, by referring to lines 370-
390 and one other extract of similar length. Relate your discussion to relevant contextual
factors.
370-390 and 692-710 would compare well as both criticise the use of written authority to
decide gendered expectations, both present the sexes as not emotionally connected, and both
make use of Alisoun’s nature to possibly undermine the feminist undertones. Overall, gender
is characterised by conflict.
1. Gender should not be decided by written authority.
Passage A (370-390): ‘thou seyest, right as wormes shende a tree, right so a wyf destoryeth
hire housbonde.’ The simile links a ‘tree’ with a ‘wyf’s’ wrongdoing, suggesting Adam and
Eve. The anaphora of ‘thou seyest’ without differentiating between her 3 husbands suggests
this is a social criticism to all of the husbands, and by extension, all men. Women were
thought of as well than, and wives especially, as the comparison of ‘wommenes love (…) to
wilde fyre’ reflects how they were seen as uncontrollable, just like Greek fire thought to be
inextinguishable. Her anger shows how she doesn’t believe this should be the case.
Passage B (685-710): Janekin has the legal power within their marriage (context), but also the
written authority. ‘To reden on this book of wikked wives. He knew of hem mo legended and
lives than been of goode wives in the Bible.’ This is pre-printing press, so he made this
himself, mixing fact with fiction. Alisoun disagrees with this. ‘Who peynted the leon, tel me
who?’ This is an intertextual reference to Aesop’s fable, in which he asserts that perception is
shaped by the victor. Chaucer himself would have been exposed to this fable as it was used in
the practice of rhetoric. The ep-ana-dip-lo-sis of ‘who’ conveys how she wants her audience
to think of the answer, and have their power threatened. The fact this would have been an oral
poem means that a bard could emphasis this.
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