The Wife of Bath May Mock and Expose Misogyny, but She Remains Trapped in It

Chaucer’s Wife of Bath is one of the most amazing characters in English Literature. She is a strong, clever, independent woman who knows what she likes and usually gets it. She is lusty and not shy about it. She exposes and mocks misogyny in various ways, showing just how misogynistic medieval society was. However, although her strong willed nature and mockery of this patriarchy is apparent, as an audience we still remain confused, and discover aspects of her characteristics and journey, which show that perhaps she is still trapped in this ideal male dominated world. The Wife of Bath, Alison is represented as a rare and unique woman in the initial portrayal of her in the prologue, but at the end of her prologue, the Wife of Bath succumbs to the pressure of society, conforms and becomes the medieval wife.

The Wife of Bath contrary to what many critics believe is successful in exposing and mocking misogyny. When the Wife strives to dominate her husbands, she is acting as a famous critic Magee said “contrary to the traditional medieval view of marriage as a reflection of the relationship between Christ (husband) and his church (wife)”. The implication is that the relationship between Christ and the church is reversed, so that the church is domineering and controlling instead of Christ. The Wife is further jeopardizing the traditional scheme of the medieval family and medieval woman because, in the traditional medieval family, the husband had control over his wife. This is what is being exposed in The Wife of Bath, the fact that Alison is completely the opposite, and by her being so outspoken she exposes the idea that she is challenging the oppressive society and the medieval church, and some may say succeeds in a big way, Religiously women were still being held accountable for the fall of mankind. Women were to remain pious and comply with their husband’s demands, sexual and otherwise The Wife of Bath only complies with her husbands sexually when she gain something, like money or property, in return. She is using her marriages as business propositions.

On the contrary, although in Chaucer’s Wife of Bath the audience does experience a strong sense of female and power and mockery of an narrow minded male world, Alison’s actions and stories show us that in actual fact as much as she try’s to expose and fight the system, she herself appears to be someone who is also a follower of misogyny. Many feminists took a great dislike to Alison, and believed that her being associated with feminism, was wrong, as her character was not as strong as people appeared to believe. For instance, another point the Wife of Bath emphasizes throughout her long speech is the dishonesty and untrustworthiness of women. As she first begins talking, she states that “no man can perjure himself and lie half so badly as a woman can” (p.193). She then goes on to describe the terrible dishonesty she practised with her first three husbands, and the most effective ways to lie to men. She reflects on “the pain and woe I gave them, though they were guiltless” (p.199). The Wife of Bath gives women an extremely bad name, and says things a feminist would never dream of thinking when she states “ God has given women by nature deceit, weeping, and spinning, as long as they live,”(p.201).

On the other hand it may be argued that The Wife of Bath is not at all trapped in this misogynist world. By showing how men are manipulated by her actions, sex, lust and intelligence she is mocking misogyny, she is showing that men think they have the power in this world, but in actual fact her experiences show that they don’t. Men are easily tricked, and this illustrates their stupidity, as well as the fact that sex and passion will always be the priority for men, and because of this important fact they will never hold power or supremacy over women. Furthermore the Wife of Bath’s greedy need for complete control over men reflects in most of her actions. She seems proud of this, as it just proves the naivety of men, and constantly describes women as cruel creatures that bring sorrow to men. When talking about her first three husbands, she says that she “governed them” (p.193), and “chided them cruelly” (p.193). When talking of her first three marriages, she says “Since they had given me all their land, why should I take pains to please them, unless it be for my own profit and pleasure” (192). In her story, the moral is that all women want to hold the whip in a relationship, and it is in a man's best interest to let them do so. This shows her demeaning men and everything they stand for in a medieval society.

It is also said that The Wife of Bath may believe she is mocking or exposing misogyny, but in actual fact she is the greatest victim of this male ideology. One of the focal characteristics of misogynist views was that men saw women as sexual objects, and nothing