The Wife of Bath Themes

Poverty and Gentilesse

Traditional medieval moral points are made about the nature of poverty
This seems totally out of keeping with her comments elsewhere in the Tale; she is a coarse vulgar woman who is failry well off.
WHY DOES CHAUCER INCLUDE THIS?
Being "gentil" is not the same as being well-born
Reputation, in her eyes, was to be gained through effort and character not birth
For the issue, the Wife views attack as the best form of defence

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Turns the medieval view of women upside down
She is a skilled weaver of cloth and most women are uneducated
Her wealth, influence and freedom have been grained through other channels
Jankin's book, evidentally by an anti-feminist writer
She gets the better of him whilst conforming to marry stereotypical criticisms of women levelled by these anti-feminist writers

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Used by the Wife specifically in terms of the relationships between men and women, especially within marriage
She believes that one partner should be dominant and sets out to prove it should be the woman
Her views on marriage go totally against the views of Chaucer's England
The man was the master adn the wife promised obedience to him -> an idea derived from the Fall

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The Church at this time was very wealthy
Their preaching against greed was percieved as hypocritical and there was growing distate for the excesses of the Church which triggered stories about greedy, irreligious churchmen
The religious figures in the Cantebury Tales all deviate in one way or another from their expected role
The Monk and the Prioress exemplify this
Context: The Great Schism

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Hot commodity in the Wife of Bath's prologue
The reason she always has a husband is due to her desire for sex
She believes that the most important reasons for marriage are money and sex
She often links the two together
Sex is also linked to power by the Wife; by withholding it she can gain material rewards from her husbands and by accusing them of cheating on her, she gains the upper hand
She does not connect sex to lolve, instead it is about pleasure and material rewards

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Many stories involve wishing the "compaignye" well, for example The Knight
Company derives from two Latin words, com or "with" and pane or "bread"
A company is a group of people with whom one eats, or breaks bread
Company had an economic connotation, it was the term designated to connote a group of people engaged in a particular business, as it is used today
Company was a levelling concept - an idea created by the working classes that gave them more power and took away some of the nobility's power and tyranny

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She uses her own experience and a number of biblical references to challenge the authority of church doctrine and that of her husbands
Taking the Bible literally she states that virginity might be recommended but it is not a commandment
She uses the 'go forth and multiply' directive but has no children
Clearly believes that marriage is a battleground and that open hostility is natural
Her tale shows that she believes there isa choice between physical and ideal love in marriage
The old woman suggests that only ugly wives are faithful
There is a moment of wish-fulfilment near the end of the tale, when the old woman becomes faithful and affectionate towards her husband as well as beautiful and young. The Wife herself found affection and fidelity with Jankin but while she cannot transform herself back to a young and beautiful bride in reality, she can at least do it in her story

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