Wife of Bath's Prologue - Explanatory Lecture

Summary

This video script delves into the character of the Wife of Bath from Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales,' exploring her as a symbol of economic autonomy and defiance against medieval misogyny. It discusses her physical descriptions, which suggest a lusty nature, and her life as a frequent pilgrim and cloth maker. The script also analyzes her monologue, where she argues for a woman's right to remarry, and her 'confession,' revealing her views on marriage, control, and the use of her sexuality as a commodity. The Wife of Bath's narrative is seen as a step towards literary realism, presenting a complex character who challenges societal norms.

Takeaways

• 📜 The Wife of Bath's Prologue from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is a significant piece of English literature that explores themes of marriage, gender, and societal norms.
• 🎨 The Ellesmere manuscript provides a visual representation of the Wife of Bath, contrasting with Chaucer's written descriptions in the General Prologue.
• 🧶 Alice, the Wife of Bath, is depicted as a cloth maker, highlighting the importance of the textile industry in medieval Britain and her economic independence.
• 💍 She is married five times and widowed four, reflecting the relative economic autonomy women had in the later Middle Ages, especially in urban areas.
• 👗 Alice is shown as a frequent pilgrim, indicating her wealth and the unusual status of a woman traveling alone during that era.
• 😁 The Wife of Bath is characterized by certain physiognomies, such as being gap-toothed, which was believed to suggest a lusty disposition in the Middle Ages.
• 💊 She is said to know 'remedies of love,' sparking debates about whether this implies knowledge of herbal contraception, though this remains unproven.
• 🎭 The character of the Wife of Bath is contrasted with the Prioress, who represents a different social class and is depicted through her manners and knowledge of French.
• 📖 The Prologue's structure includes a 'wife's sermon' advocating for a woman's right to remarry after widowhood, followed by a confession of her own life.
• 🤔 The Wife of Bath's use of the Bible in her arguments is scrutinized, with some suggesting it both undermines and satirizes the misuse of biblical authority.
• 💰 The Prologue delves into Alice's motivations for marriage, including sex, money, and prestige, and her acknowledgment of her sexuality as a commodity.

Q & A

What is the Wife of Bath's Prologue from Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales about?

The Wife of Bath's Prologue is a part of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales that features a monologue by the Wife of Bath, a character who has been married five times. It discusses her views on marriage, her experiences, and her life story, often challenging societal norms and expectations of women during the Middle Ages.

How is the Wife of Bath depicted in the Ellesmere manuscript?

In the Ellesmere manuscript, the Wife of Bath is illustrated as a cloth maker, which reflects one of the major industries of Britain at the time. She is shown wearing fancy clothes to church and is characterized by her assertiveness and independence.

What does the Wife of Bath's frequent pilgrimage indicate about her social status?

The fact that the Wife of Bath is a frequent pilgrim suggests that she has some economic means, as pilgrimages were often costly endeavors. It also indicates her relative economic autonomy, which was notable for women during the later Middle Ages.

What are some of the physiognomies attributed to the Wife of Bath in the Canterbury Tales?

Chaucer describes the Wife of Bath with certain physical characteristics that were believed in the Middle Ages to indicate certain dispositions. She is described as gap-toothed, which was considered an indication of a lusty disposition, and as being able to ride her horse well, laugh, joke, and know remedies of love.

What is the significance of the Wife of Bath's knowledge of 'remedies of love'?

The mention of the Wife of Bath knowing 'remedies of love' is intriguing and has been a subject of debate. Some scholars have speculated that this could imply knowledge of herbal contraception, although this interpretation has not been definitively proven.

How does the Wife of Bath's character challenge traditional gender roles of the Middle Ages?

The Wife of Bath challenges traditional gender roles by being economically independent, assertive, and experienced in matters of love and marriage. She is not portrayed as a submissive wife but rather as a woman who takes control of her own life and relationships.

What is the structure of the Wife of Bath's Prologue in terms of its narrative?

The structure of the Wife of Bath's Prologue can be divided into two main parts: lines one to 198, sometimes called the 'Wife's sermon,' where she argues for a woman's right to remarry, and lines 235 to 378, which contain her confession and life story, revealing aspects of her character and experiences.

How does the Wife of Bath use the authority of the Bible in her arguments?

The Wife of Bath uses the authority of the Bible to justify her views on marriage and to argue for a woman's right to have more than one husband. However, she is selective in her use of biblical texts, often taking them out of context to support her arguments.

What is the significance of the Wife of Bath's confession in the context of medieval literature?

The Wife of Bath's confession is significant as it belongs to a literary genre with origins in the Middle Ages called a 'confession.' It implies revealing normally kept secrets and provides a deeper insight into her character and experiences, contributing to a sense of literary realism.

How does the Wife of Bath's Prologue reflect Chaucer's anti-clerical satire?

Chaucer's portrayal of the Wife of Bath and other characters in the Canterbury Tales reflects an anti-clerical satire, critiquing not the institution of the Church or faith itself, but the people who worked for it and their failure to live up to its ideals.

What are some of the key themes explored in the Wife of Bath's Prologue?

Key themes explored in the Wife of Bath's Prologue include the nature of marriage, the role and autonomy of women, the use and misuse of religious authority, and the interplay between societal expectations and personal desires.

Outlines

00:00

📖 Introduction to the Wife of Bath's Prologue

The script begins with an introduction to the Wife of Bath's prologue from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. It discusses the character of the Wife of Bath, Alice, who is depicted as a cloth maker, a profession significant during the time. Alice is portrayed as a wealthy, independent woman who has been married multiple times, reflecting the economic autonomy some women had in the late Middle Ages. The script also mentions the Ellesmere manuscript, where Alice is illustrated, and contrasts it with Chaucer's portrait of her. It touches on the cultural stereotypes of the time, including physiognomy, which linked physical traits to character dispositions, and describes Alice as gap-toothed, indicating a lusty nature. The Wife of Bath is presented as a complex character who is both a product of her time and a unique figure in English literature.

05:02

📚 The Wife of Bath's Argument for Polygamy

This paragraph delves into the Wife of Bath's monologue, where she argues for a woman's right to remarry after widowhood, challenging the biblical notion of monogamy. She uses a confessional style to recount her own life experiences and control over her husbands. The script highlights the Wife of Bath's use of biblical texts to justify her stance, often taking them out of context, and her acknowledgment of the societal norms and misogynistic views of her time. It also discusses the Wife's lament for her lost youth and beauty, and her pragmatic approach to using her sexuality as a commodity for economic gain.

10:04

💸 Economic Autonomy and the Wife of Bath's Power

The third paragraph explores the Wife of Bath's economic autonomy and her understanding of the value of her sexuality. It discusses her focus on economics and her assertion of power within her marriages. The script mentions her ability to manipulate her husbands for financial gain and her desire for control, significance, and security. It also touches on her aging and the changing value of her beauty and sexuality, contrasting this with the wealth she has accumulated. The Wife of Bath's character is further examined through her interactions with her fifth husband, who is described as young and difficult to control, yet loved the most by her due to his 'dangerous' nature.

15:06

📚 The Influence of Medieval Misogyny on the Wife of Bath's Tale

The final paragraph examines the influence of medieval misogyny on the Wife of Bath's narrative. It discusses the historical context of the church's stance on celibacy and the subsequent rise in literature that portrayed marriage and women negatively. The script describes how the Wife of Bath's fifth husband, a clerk, reads to her from a book detailing the evils of marriage and the dangers of women. This leads to a climax in their relationship, which is left for the audience to interpret. The paragraph invites the audience to consider the coherence and reliability of the Wife of Bath's account, suggesting there may be gaps and contradictions in her story.

Keywords

💡Wife of Bath

The Wife of Bath is a character from Geoffrey Chaucer's 'The Canterbury Tales.' She is a cloth maker and a frequent pilgrim, known for her assertive and outspoken nature. In the script, she is depicted as a figure of economic autonomy and a breaker of stereotypes about women in the Middle Ages, particularly in her control over her marriages and her understanding of love and sexuality.

💡Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century. It is structured as a frame narrative, with a group of pilgrims telling stories on their way to Canterbury. The script discusses the Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale as part of this larger work, highlighting Chaucer's use of character to explore themes of marriage, sexuality, and social status.

💡Physiognomy

Physiognomy is the ancient practice of assessing a person's character or disposition from their outer appearance, especially the face. In the script, Chaucer uses physiognomy to characterize the Wife of Bath, suggesting that her gap-toothed appearance indicates a lusty disposition and a propensity for enjoying life.

💡Economic Autonomy

Economic autonomy refers to the ability of an individual to control their own economic resources and decisions. The script discusses how the Wife of Bath represents a certain degree of economic autonomy for women in the late Middle Ages, particularly those involved in trades such as textile making, which allowed them to earn and control their own money.

💡Confession

In the context of the script, a confession is a literary genre used by the Wife of Bath to reveal personal experiences and secrets. It does not necessarily imply an acknowledgment of wrongdoing but rather a disclosure of private matters. The Wife of Bath's confession is a significant part of her prologue, where she shares her views on marriage and her own life experiences.

💡Courtly Love

Courtly love is a medieval concept of chivalric and sometimes illicit love, often found in the literature of the time. The script mentions 'remedies of love,' which could imply the Wife of Bath's knowledge of love in the context of courtly love, including possibly herbal contraception, although this is debated and not proven.

💡Anti-Clerical Satire

Anti-clerical satire is a form of social commentary that criticizes the behavior of religious figures, particularly those who fail to live up to the ideals of their faith. The script notes Chaucer's use of anti-clerical satire to critique not the institution of the Church or faith itself, but the individuals who work within it and fall short of its standards.

💡Literary Realism

Literary realism is a style of writing that attempts to depict subjects as they are in real life, without idealization. The script suggests that the Wife of Bath represents a step forward in literary realism, as she is portrayed with a mix of stereotypes and realistic traits, reflecting the complexities of real individuals.

💡Sexuality as a Commodity

The concept of sexuality as a commodity refers to the idea that one's sexual appeal or desirability can be used as a form of social or economic exchange. In the script, the Wife of Bath is described as being aware of and utilizing her sexuality as a commodity, particularly in her relationships and marriages.

💡Experience

Experience, as highlighted in the script, is a central theme in the Wife of Bath's prologue. It signifies the value she places on personal knowledge and practical wisdom gained through life's encounters. The Wife of Bath's emphasis on experience challenges traditional authority and underscores the importance of individual agency.

Highlights

Introduction to the Wife of Bath's prologue in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.

Illustration comparison between the Ellesmere manuscript and Chaucer's portrait of the Wife of Bath.

Alice's profession as a cloth maker and its significance in the British textile industry.

Alice's marital history, having been married five times and widowed four.

The Wife of Bath as a frequent pilgrim indicating her economic status.

Economic autonomy of women in the later Middle Ages, especially in urban areas.

Physiognomy beliefs and their influence on character interpretations in the Middle Ages.

Alice's gap-toothed description and its connotation of a lusty disposition.

Debate over Alice's knowledge of 'remedies of love' and potential herbal contraception.

Contrast between the Wife of Bath and the Prioress in terms of class and religious background.

Chaucer's anti-clerical satire and its focus on the failings of the Church's representatives.

Structure of the Wife of Bath's prologue and its significance as a monologue.

Alice's justification for multiple marriages using biblical texts and her interpretation of them.

The Wife of Bath's confession and its relation to the literary genre of confessions.

Alice's portrayal of controlling and nagging behavior towards her husbands.

The Wife of Bath's lament for her lost youth and beauty, and her focus on economic gain.

Alice's use of the Bible to argue for the value of marriage and challenge traditional views.

The Wife of Bath's view on sex, money, and power, and how they motivate her actions.

Alice's description of her fifth husband and the dynamics of their relationship.

The Wife of Bath's narrative on the value of experience and the role of a woman in society.

Alice's reconciliation with her fifth husband and the implications of their relationship.

Transcripts

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alright here's a short one to talk about

the Wife of Bath's prologue I will try

to keep it short and dense though so

gonna talk quickly so pay attention and

feel free to rewind and relist in two

parts if it goes by too quickly we're

talking about the Wife of Bath's

prologue and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

pictured here is the Wife of Bath as she

is illustrated in the famous Ellesmere

manuscript compared this image of her

with the portrait of her in Chaucer's

portrait and general prologue 447 to 478

I will post the slideshow independently

of this video in weekly folder for as

well what we learn about Alice in the

bath from that portrait feel free to

look it up is that she's a cloth maker

and this is one of the major industries

of Britain at the time that can textiles

and wool

she wears fancy clothes to church and

gets mad if anyone goes to the offering

before her she is married five has been

married five times in widowed four times

we learned that she is a frequent

pilgrim and this meant you had some

money and also it was an interesting

thing that a woman should travel on her

own so much and it speaks to an

interesting situation in the later

Middle Ages which was the relative

economic autonomy of women especially in

the towns and cities who make can make

money from their own trades such as

textile making and brewing we'll see

more of that when we talk about Margaret

Margery Kemp until laws later in the

early modern period restricted women's

economic activity in public life to a

greater degree all of this is

interesting enough but Chaucer also

notes some physiognomies I own aa

McPheeters about her in the Middle Ages

up through the 19th century there was

but there were beliefs that certain

physical characteristics indicated

certain dispositions certain kinds of

characters so you know we still have

some of these stereotypes you know that

like really skinny people are sort of

serious and you know more ample people

will be sort of jolly and funny these

are kind of cultural stereotypes that we

see still

communicated in our movies than TV and

so forth and she was she's described as

gap-toothed which in the Middle Ages was

an indication of a lusty disposition of

a woman who liked to have a good time

she's also described as being able to

ride her her horse well to laugh and

joke and it's and she said to know

remedies of love which is interesting

given the courtly context there's a lot

of been debate about what that means as

well some have even argued that that

that that implies that she has knowledge

of herbal contraception and a board of

factors but that's never been proven and

it's hard to really sort of it's an

interesting idea anyway so that's

Allison 2bath one of the great

characters of English literature she's

riding on her own with this know with

these Knights and his monks and partners

and his most sweet men the one other

woman who really get much a picture of

among the pilgrims is the Prioress who

is the head of a nunnery the kind of

Mother Superior and she's described as

this sort of dainty kind of twee a wrist

Arista crow well upper Gentry kind of

background she's described as having a

little dog and like you know crying when

when she sees an animal hurt even if

it's it's a mouse and having the very

best table manners and knowing French

very well and and being like we get much

more of a picture of her sort of class

image depiction than her religious

background and this speaks to what a lot

of people have talked about with Chaucer

is his anti-clerical satire he's a

satire on not the institution of the

Church of the faith itself but the kind

of people who worked for it and the way

that they failed to live up to its ideas

frequently that's a picture of Chaucer

there there's the Randy friar sort of I

guess like

harassing her planner No anyway the

Chaucer's portrait yeah so what about

the prologue itself what about this

extensive 180 20 line narrative poem

that's actually longer than the tale

that she tells well this is what her

sort of rambling monologue that she

delivers to the other pilgrims before

she gets to her story and the this slide

indicates an overall structure of that

text lines one to 198 is sometimes

called the wife's servant almond it's

interrupted by the partner who's saying

what is this woman preaching that she

keeps referring to biblical texts and of

course what she's arguing is that a

woman should be allowed to have more

than one husband not at a time oh you

know see really you know that is to say

after she is widowed she should be able

to marry again and after she gives this

this justification for her having been

married five times before she then

begins what we might call her first Tale

not not a tale of that she's heard but

the tale of her own life and this

belongs to a kind of literary genre with

origins in the Middle Ages called a

confession and please review your

vocabulary hand up for a considered

description of what that means it

doesn't necessarily mean an

acknowledgement of wrongdoing it does

imply that one is revealing things that

are normally kept secret them and in two

three wines 235 to 378 we get a

wonderful description of how she

describes or how she Badgers and

controls her husband's the it is in many

ways leads into this

misogynistic discourse this this sort of

received ideas about what women are like

and she's sort of acting out the fantasy

of a woman as this controlling deceptive

monster that is ubiquitous in Western

culture and particularly in medieval and

early modern and also modern literature

we then get she could give us this brief

sort of sorrowful lament for her own

banished to youth we're talking about

the death of the fourth husband and true

romance with her fifth husband maybe I

want you to read that carefully I'm not

gonna talk about it extensively because

some of the quiz questions are about

that but I want you to pay close

attention to the details of that

that's strange narrative in the sermons

she talks about how her five husband of

her five husbands three were good

because they were rich and old and also

she could boss them around some of the

questions to ask about are as how does

the Wife of Bath use the authority of

the Bible out like as in line 20 when

when Jesus says that woman that people

shouldn't get married more than once or

that the woman at the Samaritan well

hadn't had only been married once she

says what that he meant better be it

cannot sign what that he meant thereby I

cannot say so watch for how she argues

and how she uses evidence some have

argued that while this is meant to sort

of sell her short as a biblical

authority it also makes fun of the way

that people in general can use the

authority of the Bible to justify

anything in Middle English the word

gloss meant both to interpret and to lie

so look it for the word Gloucester it's

spelled Glos II in Chaucer's text in 165

to 168 we get a really really

interesting little biblical exegesis on

the relative value of the verging life

versus the married life

where

she really kind of does it toward a

force of taking Bible quotes out of

context some of our other questions that

we can ask is how does she view sex what

motivates her sex money prestige

remember the beginning of this course

sex money power Fame one of the

fascinating things about Alice of Bath

is that she is a step forward even if

she is a collection of stereotypes in

some ways she's also a step forward in

what we might call a certain kind of

literary realism in that she's not the

courtly lady she's not a witch but she's

not the the beautiful beloved from a

distance there's many things about her

that we community that taste of reality

the taste of experience and experience

is what the Wife of Bath is all about it

is after all the first word in her

prologue experience if known Authority

were enough to tell me the whoa that is

in mariage

[Music]

so in her confession we can ask a few

questions what her husband's good for to

the Wife of Bath well she says you ease

away of us that can understand ah

thus surely he speak and hear him wrong

on Hornet for half so boldly can there

no man swear and Leah as a woman can

have so bold we can there no man swear

and why as a woman can sure on the one

hand that's misogynistic but on the

other hand it sort of claims a kind of

power for this woman in a society where

the stack where this deck is very much

stacked against them against her here at

3:19 and following is a wonderful

example of how she imitates herself

bothering and controlling and nagging

her husband why hidest ow that's that's

why do you hide the words are kind of

run together in the middle english why

hide us through the keys of my chest

who shall not both though who would be

meister of me body and me good now these

lines have jumped out to me and many

other scholars as being at the heart of

the Wife of Bath's confession and her

complaint she's talking to this husband

and she says to him you will not even if

you're angry

that's what wood means even if you're

mad crazy you will don't hide the keys

to my chest

don't take my debit card away from me

don't take my credit card you will not I

don't care what for anything do not be

the master

both of my body and my good and good

here means wealth world with property

466 she talks about for winning would I

all his lust endure sorry that's

supposed to be fixed for winning and

winning it here again it doesn't mean

winning like in a game or in a war it

means it means profit earning and so

she's somebody who's very much focused

on economics and very much appreciates

the fact that her sexuality is a

commodity and she's not ashamed of it

and she says if that's the way things

are then I'm gonna make the most of it

in Lyons 472 479 she gives the sad

little speech about how she is getting

older and has lost her beauty and this

follows the revelation that the forth

that her fourth husband cheated on her

and there's a kind of wistful

reminiscence for her vanished youth the

fact that her beauty is fading and that

that commodity of that of her sexuality

is fading but she has gained a lot of

the other kind of commodity the

commodity that is gue actual wealth and

she's used that wealth to win a fifth

new husband and to travel and to you

know wear the most fabulous clothes that

she wants to and to make sure when she's

at church in bath that she's gonna be

near the front of that line when it

comes to go their confessions that's

where you want to be that's where that's

where the important people are right she

wants what everyone wants she wants

control significance security just a

little bit more than just an assemblage

of anti-feminist stereotypes though

there's plenty of that going on

focus in on her description of her

husband this is where the rubber really

hits the road she talks about how he

wasn't as nice to her as her other

husbands weren't wasn't as easy to

control and she says that feel I on my

ribs there is a kind of reversal now

Allison is older and rich and she

marries this young beautiful man who

mistreats her and who she talks about

how he was the most dangerous this is

the lines 5 13 to 5:30 and therefore she

loved him the most

be aware that dangerous here does not

mean what it means now it doesn't mean

physically dangerous

it means standoffish hard to get kind of

emotionally inaccessible let's see a

line six forty two forty two and and

following we get a description him read

it well there's a whole lot of him

reading we a book to her and her

describing the contents of this book and

the contents of this book this book of

wicked wives is based on real medieval

authorities talking about the evils of

marriage and the dangers of women there

was a huge uptick in this kind of

writing after the 12th century when the

church officially made it policy that

priests could not marry monks could

never marry bishops could never marry

but your average parent parish priest

could marry to get to go into any any

kind of clerical order you had to be

celibate after the 12th century for a

bunch of reasons

Google Gregorian reform if you're

interested in that if you're a history

buff but I'm gonna repress myself and

not talk to her 20 minutes about that

now but for various reasons the church

decided that the rank and file the

church should not be able to marry

anymore and this was not something that

you could just implement over over

it took generations of cultural

retraining and transformation in order

to agree to make a lot of the most

talented and educated and aspirational

and ambitious and well-connected people

across Europe manure a lot of the people

who go into the church and go into

scholarship and go into administration

civil administration was mostly made up

of church people most of these people

need to convince these people to give up

family to give up the marriage to give

up having children to give up all the

honor that accrued to that required a

lot of programming and so there's tons

and tons of writing about why marriage

is terrible and why it's dangerous and

why women are bad why why they're evil

and so we get the weird situation in

Chaucer's day we're starting to get a

literate class that's that's married um

and minor orders lower clerics you are

gonna advance to too high in the

priesthood are are marrying but they're

still infused in this misogynistic

culture this culture of rejecting

marriage and so Jenkin who's a minor

who's described as a clerk and somebody

who's gotten to a certain degree into a

certain degree of education well maybe

he didn't go farther because he got

married to the white bath because she

kind of trapped him who knows it's just

I'm just speculating not a good basis

for literary scholarship but um in any

case he has this big book that's an in

tholly a collection and remember what I

said about books being treasures you own

a book revalue it he's got this big book

about all the bad women throughout

history and he reads it to her every

night night after night to me the climax

of this

book is when he describes this is at 763

to 770 this this story it's almost like

a bar joke where a guy says to his

neighbor oh man I've got this tree and

it's terrible then you know I'm on my

third wife who's hung herself from it

and the neighbor says can I get a

clipping yeah anyway at a certain point

not long after this

Alison uses it I'll let you read that

for yourself but then they have a

reconciliation and there I like to hear

what you guys think about that how that

works out and how that comes together

and whether you buy it whether you think

that Alison has told a coherent and

reliable account of her story or whether

there are gaps and contradictions and if

there are why our courts talk

[Music]