In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer creates a rich and unexpected portrait of The Wife of Bath, which is already well established from the beginning of his tale's prologue. His honest and unashamedly frank diction and admissions, along with the inclusion of personal anecdotes, contribute to the unexpected nature of the content of his prologue; all these aspects of the prologue give his words, and therefore the character, a somewhat controversial and even taboo element. The boldness of her character, as evidenced by the brazen honesty and shamelessness with which she reveals much of her history and experience, particularly in terms of marriages, not only creates a sense of separation between her and other women, but also conveys it as a radical among the others present. Her role as a wife, as described in the prologue, is unconventional for the time, as her desires and shortcomings are largely at her discretion and in her hands; his marriages are depicted as malleable in response to his desires. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The Wife of Bath uses biblical evidence to question and oppose conventional expectations of women regarding marriage and sex. She initially argues that society is misogynistic and that women's positions and images necessarily suffer if they do not adhere to all the behaviors of virgins or servile wives. One of the first and most important points made by the Wife of Bath is that sex and remarriage should not be viewed unfavorably as is often the case, and she maintains this at length, admitting the strength of her own sexual appetites. It is clear to the audience that the wife identifies herself first as a person and a woman, and then as a wife, especially since she has had five husbands and states that she will “welcome the sixteen, when ever she does. To calm myself, I don't want to keep myself chaste in everything; with the justification that "the Apostle said that I am free" (vv. 45-46, 49). He provides the clever justification that while men prefer women to be chaste and advise them to remain so, "...conseillying is a natural commandment"; (line 67). One way he criticizes patriarchal constraints is when he argues lightly by asking ""And of course, if there were no seeds, then, Virginitee. From where it will grow” (lines 71-72). While clearly the Wife of Bath is empowered and bold in various ways by speaking out against the status quo and challenging traditionally held masculine ideas about how he should behave, she is also contradictory at certain moments, such as when she points out, “For well, you know, a lord in his house, / He has all golden vessels; / Some have been of tree, and his lord is servant" (lines 99-101). This seems to be something of a shift, because it positions her as avowedly subordinate for misogynistic reasons, but she doesn't seem troubled by it. Her resignation to this fact probably derives from the confidence that her opinions are correct, since otherwise God would have condemned marriage and procreation, if he wanted women to remain virgins. In her way of addressing fellow pilgrims, the Wife of Bath establishes polarities between the his individual self and the group of them. He tells them confidently "And, lordynges, for you, this am nat I. I will bestow the flour of all my age / In the deeds and fruit of marriage" (lines 112-14). At various times she seems to invoke controversial points and conclusions not only to maintain her position, but also to scandalize the people around her and to separate or distinguish herself. Her points are bold and persistent, especially when she begins to discuss how she got and maintained power in his marriages. Toexample, not only does she say that "In any case I will use my instrument / as freely as my Creator sent it" (lines 148-49), but she also states that her husband will be "both [her] deviation and the [ his] slave, / And shall have his tribulacioun at the same time / Upon his flesh, while [she is] his wife" continuing to explain that he possesses her body during their marriage (lines 155-59). To solidify this claim that their bodies are owed to each other and destined to copulate, he asks the important question “…and for ese/ Of engendrure, ther we nat God displese./ Why sholde men elles in hir bookes seven,/ That a man may hire said from his girl? Now by what time shall he make his payment, / If he used his secret instrument” (lines 127-32), However, implicit in this point is also the. idea that without his sexual offerings to his wife, a man may have little or questionable value. It is already unexpected for a woman to assert such equality in a marriage or to suggest that she possesses her husband as much as her husband possesses her, yet the Wife of Bath goes. beyond these notions, effectively stating that without a man offering his wife sexual pleasure, how else can he truly satisfy or satisfy her? His ideas here are suitable as he follows to give listeners a glimpse into the topics he has pointed in the direction to give himself more control, during his numerous marriages. An important point she comes to with her husbands, quite calculatedly but still inspired, is that they cannot be masters of both her body and her property because women value their freedom (line 322). The Wife of Bath demonstrates the impossibility of a woman being both satisfied and oppressed. By imitating for the audience parts of generic arguments that have taken place between her and several or all of her husbands, she shows that her main motive which secretly presides over all her arguments with her husbands is to gain power. When her husbands showed jealousy for legitimate reasons, she would persuade them that their anger was paranoid and unjustified. She also delves into many circumstances in which she will invent her husband's fault in a certain situation, to satisfy her desires. She shamelessly describes how she tells her husbands about certain ways they hurt her when they were drunk, saying that "Lordynges, just like that, as you understood, / Baar I rigidly myne old housbondes on honde, / That soy seyden in his dronkenesse,” ultimately to get what he wanted (lines 379-81). The way she withholds sex from her husbands to force them to bargain with her, even though she has admitted to her strong sexual drive, shows that her ultimate goal in her marriages tends to be to keep power shifted such that that it constantly has more. The Wife of Bath conveys her ability to manipulate her husbands through her examples, but also shows that she does not tend to use this ability unless she is in an inferior position and, therefore, has to change her circumstances. He admits that women are dishonest and calculating by nature, and that "Deceiving, crying, spying God hath yeve / To women with kindness, while they may live" (line 401). Ironically, the listener or reader feels like they are witnessing some learned advice based on immense experience in many of his stories. As they are portrayed and confessed in typically crass and brutal terms, she takes the position of a mentor who gives women valuable advice on how to conduct their marriages, which becomes evident when she warns the audience that this story “Wynne whoso may, since al means to sell” (line 414). Show deliberately constructed behavior as a form of performance for listeners so thatboth can have fun and learn from his experience. There are various situations where the Wife of Bath relied on certain appearances and inventions of artificiality to get what she wanted. he wanted out of his marriage. Many of her duties as a wife are achievable due to her higher-than-average degree of authority for a woman in a marriage. For example, although it is a counterintuitive idea, the wife used her ability to be false when her fourth husband cheated on her and hoped to make him believe he was doing the same. This concept is inherently ironic and while it may seem unnecessary and needlessly disingenuous to no useful purpose, it essentially allowed her to remain at the top or equal in the power struggle of their marriage. Likewise, he implemented other means of artificiality for other ends which he described in the prologue. For example, to make Jankyn believe that she loved him, even though she didn't actually love him at the time, she tells him that she was becoming infatuated with him, which she explains by saying "I exclude it on smooth, he had me enchanted: my lady that soutiltee taught me” (lines 575-76). The wife apparently has no reservations about using these forms of artifice, which can be attributed to the fact that in order for a woman to have power and authority in such a powerless time. for women, she must do things that are undesirable. and that degrade oneself or others. When her fourth husband died, the Wife of Bath shares that she "wept algate, and made sory cheere, As wyves mooten, because it is customary" (lines). 588-89).Her other instances of deliberate and calculated false behavior were usually aimed at satisfying her mind or mood, or to ensure that some situation would work out positively for her, and she was unaware of the perception of strangers. In this situation, her decision to pretend to cry a lot even though she did not feel great sadness is perhaps linked to her more socially vulnerable position as a widow, rather than a married woman. To ensure that her future prospects went as she planned, she appears to have had to play the role of aggrieved widow. By being comfortably situated within a marriage, The Wife of Bath makes it clear that her displays of artificial behavior were reserved. for necessary occasions and that most of his behavior was based on his real impulses and desires. The Wife of Bath openly shares this with others by saying “I have never loved without discretion, but I have always satisfied my appetite” (lines 622-23). Already quite unusual for the time and the conditions of the marriage at the time, her agency and control in the marriage were made particularly evident through the juxtaposition of Jaynkin's volatile and aggressive behavior that she describes and his casual outspokenness . She refuses to confront his tendencies that devalued, criticized, and generalized her as a wife, and so she rebelled against his control over her by slapping him and tearing up the pages of the book. He tells the listeners, in explanation, "Of his proverbs n'of his olde sawe, Ne I wolde nat of hym Corrected be" (lines 661-62). In an unexpected turn of events, this leads him to tell her "Myn owene trewe wyf, do as you desire the end of all your life", ultimately relinquishing all power in marriage to her (lines 819-820). The wife is deeply honest with herself and everyone else about both her power and limitations in her marriages; certain ways in which he had no control were those representative of the elusive human nature, such as the source of his initial love for Jaynkin; because “he was dangerous to [her] because of his love.” She continues to justify it by explaining “We women have, if this I won't do it, In this.