In her prologue as well as her tale, the Wife describes situations in which women place themselves in a position of power over the men in their lives and in both instances the women choose to be "kinde" to their husbands. They choose to fulfill their half of the marriage agreement on equal, loving terms, but only after eerily similar capitulations from Jankins and the knight. While Jankins implores "Myn owene trewe wyf, do as thee lust the terme of al thy lyf," the knight tells his bride "my lady and my love...I pit me in your wyse governance: chooseth youreself which may be most pleasance." The Wife of Bath and her character just want validation as human beings and a marriage partnership. Really isn't that what we all want?
Although I think it would have been hilarious for the knight to have to wax his legs like Mel Gibson...
Sara, I never thought of it this way until now. It makes me wonder whether Chaucer's lifestyle agrees with your statement. (Anyone know for sure if he was married or not??) Also, I think that this is how marriage really was set up at the beginning and has been viewed throughout the ages. Although women had non-prominent roles in society for the majority of history thus far, they always played important roles in the home. And the home was and still can be seen as the focal point of a family; so even though the man is the head of the home, the woman plays and equally important role within the family structure. Marriage has always been about an equal partnership or even like a team, and now I can see that in the Wife of Bath as well.
ReplyDeleteSara- I think you have a valid point in drawing our attention to Chaucer as actively endorsing marriage as an equal partnership through an advocative character like the Wife of Bath. Although, I think the desire for sovereignty over men in the tale seems a little extreme, I believe to some extent, the Wife of Bath is almost overcompensating for the lowly, restrictive status a women dealt with during this Medieval period. Sometimes, it seems effective to fight one extreme (no rights) with another (all the power).
ReplyDeleteI like your point in that she is a strong character because I think she is. She goes after what she wants unapologetically. I am just unsure of whether the characters marriage is one of equality or not. I can't help but feel the knight got off easy in the end
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