DaRosa 1

Ceceli DaRosa
Professor Gordon
British Literature, Block D
5 November 2014
The Canterbury Tales - The Wife of Bath
1) Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKBHoF1NRQU&feature=youtu.be
2)

The Wife of Bath is a wool-maker. She is very good at making cloth and she bettered

those of Ypres and of Ghent (Chaucer 458). Her rank in medieval British society would be
middle class. She is very wealthy due to all the left over money from her husbands; her attire she
wears really emphasizes her wealth. Although she is wealthy, the money she herself makes does
not earn enough money to be high class as she appears to be (Prentice Hall). This occupation still
exists today, and is known as a seamstress. Being a seamstress is much easier today than it was
back then. There are sewing machines to assist in their job, whereas back then, it was mainly
done by hand. The sewing machine was invented in 1970 by Thomas Saint. They are still the
same in that the occupations are always going to be needed; people need clothing, and woolmakers and seamstresses provide clothing. Being a wool-maker was an important occupation in
medieval society because everyone needed clothing, therefore, people would buy it and she
would receive profit (Graham).
3)

The Wife of Bath knows her way around men. She has had five husbands, in addition to

all her affairs; she married the first four for money, and married her fifth and final one for love.
Each marriage ended because the husband would die. With the first four husbands, she has
control and say over them, and she likes having that power. The fifth husband she did not have
control over, and he would beat her, but she still loves him anyways. He even hits her on her ear,

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causing that ear to go deaf. The two fight and make up, but the ending result is she receives
sovereignty over him, which is what she always wanted (Chaucer). The Wife of Bath is gaptoothed, which is a symbol for being lustful. Bold was her face, handsome, and red in hue
(Chaucer 468). She is a very big, broad woman who has large hips. She wears and owns nice
material items, such as her ten pounded kerchiefs, scarlet red hose, and soft, new shoes. She
wears these items on Sunday, the Lords Day. The Wife of Bath likes to travel to different
countries, and has traveled to Jerusalem more than three times. She also knows the remedies of
loves mischances (Chaucer 485), which means she knows how to perform abortions. Even
though she is very lustful, materialized, and immoral, she likes to converse and laugh with
company; this makes her a worthy woman all her life (Chaucer 469). The Wife of Baths tale
gives the reader insight into her personality because she believes sovereignty over their husbands
and lovers is what women truly desire, and the Wife of Bath herself is a very controlling woman,
who has say over everything (Chaucers Pilgrims and Their Clothing).
4)

Geoffrey Chaucer includes this character in the story to show that even though someone

may be lustful, materialized, and unethical, they can still be a good people to converse among.
The Wife of Bath has had many affairs and husbands and cares about material goods. Also, she
does know how to perform abortions, which is against the church. Even though has done all
these immoral sins, she is liked by many people. She makes people laugh and is great at
communicating (Character Analysis). Chaucer somewhat likes the Wife of Bath, but feels she is a
promiscuous woman. When Chaucer lists all the negative actions about the Wife of Bath, he lists
them in a way that is not demeaning and does not make her look like a bad person, like the
Miller. He also does not forget to include all the positive qualities about her. The Wife of Bath is
like the Squire, in a sense, where they both fit in because they are good and nice people, yet

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some of their qualities are looked upon negatively. The Squire has a very girly personality and a
narcissist; however, he is humble and respects his father, the knight, and therefore he fits in. The
Wife of Bath makes characters in the poem laugh and keeps the conversation flowing, which
many of the characters enjoy; therefore, she fits in, even though her actions are looked downed
upon (Prentice Hall Literature).

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Works Cited
Chaucer, Geoffrey The Canterbury Tales. Electronic Literature Foundation n.d. Web. 1 Nov.
2014. <http://canterburytales.org/canterbury_tales.html>
Chaucer's Pilgrims and Their Clothing: Wife of Bath." N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.
<http://sitemaker.umich.edu/garmentsinthecanterburytales/wife_of_bath>
Forsdyke, Graham. "A Brief History of the Sewing Machine." ISMACS International, n.d. Web.
02 Nov. 2014.
Prentice Hall, ed. Prentice Hall Literature The British Tradition. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson, 2012. Print.
"Wife of Bath - Character Analysis N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2014
http://csis.pace.edu/grendel/projf983a/charac.htm