British Literature - Week 9 - Wife of Bath's Prologue

http://sites.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/canttales/wbpro/

We're back to finish our examination of some of the greatest British Literature every written. In Canterbury Tales, readers are introduced to all the characters going on the pilgrimage to Canterbury in the General Prologue, followed by the tales by various characters. The tales are usually preceded by prologues - so first we get a preview into the author of the tale, and then the author (one of the pilgrims) tells a story. The stories are each a product of that particular pilgrim, so another avenue of exploration includes analyzing why that character told that tale. Chaucer was a brilliant poet, which makes reading his work enjoyable and exhausting, like exhuming the text for hidden meaning!

How can I describe the Wife of Bath. She is bawdy, forthright, unapologetic, and a feminist ahead of her time. She is on the pilgrimage to find husband #6! The first five husbands died (which is curious in and of itself!). The Wife of Bath had three good husbands -- good is defined by her as an old, rich, wealthy husband who will die soon and leave her all his worldly goods. She had a love/hate relationship with her fifth husband (who was a pall-bearer at the funeral of her fourth husband). He literally threw the book at her--the Book of Wicked Wives.

1       "Experience, though noon auctoritee
                "Experience, though no written authority
2       Were in this world, is right ynogh for me
                Were in this world, is good enough for me
3       To speke of wo that is in mariage;
                To speak of the woe that is in marriage;
4       For, lordynges, sith I twelve yeer was of age,
                For, gentlemen, since I was twelve years of age,
5       Thonked be God that is eterne on lyve,
                Thanked be God who is eternally alive,
6       Housbondes at chirche dore I have had fyve --
                I have had five husbands at the church door --

Throughout the prologue, the Wife of Bath carries on an argument, an "apologia," defending her many marriages and her attitudes toward men. She includes arguments from the Apostle Paul, and church fathers like St. Jerome and St. Augustine. The Wife of Bath carries on a theological argument for multiple husbands and enjoyment of sex, carefully choosing biblical passages to support her arguments. Here is a small sampling:

55       I woot wel Abraham was an hooly man,
                I know well Abraham was a holy man,
56       And Jacob eek, as ferforth as I kan;
                And Jacob also, insofar as I know;
57       And ech of hem hadde wyves mo than two,
                And each of them had more than two wives,
58       And many another holy man also.
                And many another holy man also.
59       Wher can ye seye, in any manere age,
                Where can you find, in any historical period,
60       That hye God defended mariage
                That high God forbad marriage
61       By expres word? I pray yow, telleth me.
                By express word? I pray you, tell me.
62       Or where comanded he virginitee?
                Or where commanded he virginity?
63       I woot as wel as ye, it is no drede,
                I know as well as you, it is no doubt,
64       Th' apostel, whan he speketh of maydenhede,
                The apostle, when he speaks of maidenhood,
65       He seyde that precept therof hadde he noon.
                He said that he had no precept concerning it.
66       Men may conseille a womman to been oon,
                Men may advise a woman to be one,
67       But conseillyng is no comandement.
                But advice is no commandment.

My students reviewed the Wife of Bath's description in the General Prologue, and worked in small groups examining the primary texts to which the Wife of Bath refers in her argument in favor of multiple marriages. We discussed medieval marriage and contemporary marriage, the differences, and even the similarities. In the 14th century, women were identified by their relationship to men. Has that changed as much as we think it has? For one answer, watch this video by my new favorite author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: We Should All Be Feminists

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Work Cited

Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Geoffrey Chaucer Page. Ed. General Editor Larry D. Benson. Cambridge: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2008. Web. 1 April 2019. .