Is the Wife of Baths Tale a feminist piece of work?
The Wife of Baths Tale derives from Chaucer’s Cantebury Tales, a collection from 1387. In the Wife of Baths Tale and The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnalle there is the common theme of the “loathly lady” which was apart of many fabulas in medival times. Tales revolving around the loathly lady focus on a respected king, or knight who must face the test of pursuing an unattractive woman so that he can claim sovereignty of the land. This theme originates from Celtic mythology, where the loathly lady harbours the figure of a goddess and higher power. This correlation between ugliness and sovereignty holds a sense of subconscious feminism in my opinion, in terms of how it discards the notion that a woman’s worth, power or femininity is based on her looks or attractiveness. The goddess sovereignty who appears in the tales is depicted as a repulsively unattractive old woman who wishes to marry or seduce the king. If the king complies, the woman will become beautiful and the source of legitimacy of his power. One of the reasons the Wife of Baths Tale can be re appropriated as a feminist text, is the nature of it’s female narrator, who’s views can be interpreted as scandalous for the time because of the way they question the value of virginity. Because chastity was one of the most sought after virtues a woman could have in the context of strict catholic dogma at the time, to suggest that virginity wasn’t as valuable as society claimed it to be, established a sense of sexual liberation. In my opinion, writing in the voice of a female narrator and using it to imply female empowerment was a combined attempt at writing about feminism from Chaucer. It is argued that Chaucer’s views are better defined to be protofeminist, because they do not conform to modern interpretations of female emancipation. The Wife of Baths Tale follows the story of Sir Gawain, who is a knight serving King Arthur after he commits a horrible crime of rape. Gawain’s fate is undecided and it is possible he could be executed for his misconduct, so King Arthur puts his life in the hands of Queen Guenevere. The queen decides that Gawain must go on a quest to dicover what it is that women most desire, and his life shall be speared if he succeeds. There are many facets of this story arch which encompass feminism in my opinion, starting with the fact that King Arthur leaves the fate of Gawain in the hands of a woman, the queen. Secondly, in order to clear his name, Gawain must go on a quest which is purely focused on the pursuit of what women desire, which wasn’t a pressing matter at the time in society. The meaning of this quest reverses gender domination , allowing for a sense of female empowerment to surface. When Gawain encounters the loathly lady on the way home of his so far unsuccessful quest, he learns what it is what women most desire. Upon his return, before a court of ladies and the queen he reveals “ Women desire to have sovereignty As well over her husband as her love And to be mastery above him.” The last two aspects of feminism connecting to this text that I will discuss is the overpowering array of female characters in the tale, and the meaning of the conclusion to Gawain’s quest. Having a female narrator, the queen who decides Gawain’s fate and the court of ladies who will judge him clearly suggest that women can be the masters of their own fate, in this case by being the master of a powerful mans’ fate. Learning that a woman’s true desire is to have sovereignty above her husband reverses the gender domination and is a powerful obstruction to the oppression they experienced. I however do understand why this tale isn’t interpreted as a modern feminist text, because of some of the comical aspects and lack of motivation to promote gender equality.
References :
Chaucer, Geoffrey (c.1390). The Wife of Bath.
Carter, S. (2003). Coupling The Beastly Bride And The Hunter Hunted: What Lies Behind in Chaucer’s Wife Of Bath’s Tale. In The Chaucer Review, Vol. 37, No. 4, 2003
The Wife of Bath's Tale is considered by some critics to indicate that Chaucer may have been a feminist. Why might they believe this? Do you agree? Remember to cite evidence from the text or some other source.
ReplyDeleteThis is a complex question to answer because of the Narrative structure in which each story is framed. Who do you believe as there are frames within frames and Chaucer the narrator should be kept separate from Chaucer the author.
I don’t believe Chaucer was a feminist however he was sympathetic to the plight of women publishing the “Legend of Good Women” to give a more literary balanced view of women prior to his “The Canterbury Tales.”
He employs a satirical agenda in the hope of reform to challenge the norms of society that men rule the world and women do as they are told. Chaucer questions the church and patriarchy being the natural order of things that has God at the top followed by Men and then Women underneath. The realities that existed in the Middle Ages was that women were the property of men with their role essentially childbearing and rearing while keeping house which meant the cleaning or supervising thereof depending on their station.
The Wife of Bath’s Tale is a romance story told by a woman, unusual at that time. She had five husbands confessing openly and proudly that she used her sexuality and deceit to get her way and manipulate her husband’s obedience. Sovereignty is still the core theme however not of kingship rather the Prologue is a confession, in which The Wife of Bath openly admits and defends her sins to illustrate her tale: The thing women most desire is complete control ("sovereignty") over their husbands.
Critics have portrayed The Wife of Bath as a feminist character. This tag could equally be applied to the ugly old woman in the Wife’s tale when the knight hands over the decision making to her, now his wife, to choose to either remain the same or become young and beautiful. This could be interpreted as female empowerment.
Chaucer was born a commoner however he had influence at the Royal Court and Government. There is no evidence to suggest he championed women’s rights to these influential circles directly.
He is a devout Catholic and it is unthinkable that he would use a sinner such as The Wife of Bath to portray his views on gender roles. I believe he wants the reader to make up their own mind on the order of things and the way women are treated.
The Tale
DeleteThe Wife's story is set in the time of King Arthur. The story is of a young knight, condemned to death for rape by the King.
Comment: Controversy is immediate when the knight’s unchivalrous behaviour is conduct unbecoming for raping a maiden, a lady of social standing. Knights are supposed to protect the honour of women and treat them with upmost respect.
Queen Guenevere intercedes by saying she has a better idea. His life will be spared if he can find out, within a year, what thing women most desire. The knight agrees.
Comment: The Queen countering the Kings command is highly unlikely but highlights the theme of the wife taking control of the decision making.
The knight has failed to find the answer he seeks, when, on the day he must turn for home, he sees in the forest a group of (24) dancers who are fairies. When he approaches, all of them disappear, leaving an ugly old woman sitting alone. He tells her of his troubles, and she gives him the answer to the queen's question, but, in return he must grant her whatever she asks for, which he promises to do so.
Comment: Fairies are of the pagan belief and the forest is protected by the Goddess Diana, a feminine world, in contrast to the Royal Court which is patriarchal.
On the chosen day, the knight gives his answer before the queen and the ladies of the court: what women most desire is to have control over their husbands. All agree that the knight has answered right and deserves to keep his life, when the old woman reminds the knight of his promise: she now demands that he marry her. He is horrified but agrees.
Comment: Coupling of the loathly lady and the knight creates tension and conflict.
The knight marries the old woman privately but when his wife comes to bed, she rebukes him for his lack of enthusiasm. He replies by condemning her as ugly, old and of low birth. She retorts that she could amend all of these things but first she takes him to task for his attitude.
Comment: Complaints are normally the husband’s domain which highlights again who is in control when she chastice’s him for his unknightly behaviour. The knight must perform his husbandly duties by embracing the hag sexually to bind the marriage. This act breaks the spell and in return the hero is rewarded.
She gives her husband a choice: she can remain old and ugly, but faithful, or she can be young and beautiful, but untrustworthy. The knight allows her to choose. She tells him that, since he has given her the power to decide, she will be both loyal and beautiful after they consummate their marriage. The knight is overjoyed and the couple lives happily ever after.
Comment: This conforms to the Loathly Lady motif and Romance genre by ending the story with a marriage.
References
Mountfort, P. (2020). Literature/Desire. 4-6a.ppt [PowerPoint slide]. ENGL600¬_2020_01 (Literature/Desire(s1,2020). Retrieved from http://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/
Mountfort, P. (2020). Literature/Desire.Critical Reader. ENGL600¬_2020_01 (Literature/Desire(s1,2020). Retrieved from http://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/