The Wife of Bath Essay -- Essays Papers

The married woman of BathHistorical Background One of the most memorable pilgrims of The Canterbury Tales, as well as one of the most memorable women in literature, is the married woman of Bath. She is a lusty and domineering woman who is proud of and outspoken just about her versedity and believes that a woman should have sovereignty in a marriage (Norton 80). She is also extremely blunt and outspoken about her ideas and beliefs. contempt being a woman of the fourteenth century, her ideas, beliefs, and behavior atomic number 18 more than like those of the twentieth century. For these reasons, she seems true to life even today. However, her ideas, beliefs, and behavior are not at all representative of the women of her time. Women in the Middle Ages had more freedom compared to women in the Anglo-Saxon period. However, women in the Middle Ages were still considered to be symbiotic on men. In the medieval period, most women were not formally educated. They did not have the right to own property, to express themselves freely and openly or to make their own decisions. They did not have a wad of freedom and choice, and were not treated as represent to men.In the Anglo-Saxon period women were generally identified by marital or sexual status. In Caedmons Hymn, as told by Bede, Abbess Hilda is an exception, because despite being a woman, she is the head of and rules over the monastery. In Beowulf, the tragic story of Hildeburh suggests that women were not warriors in the Anglo-Saxon culture and period. They were there to support their husbands and cook, clean, and give birth. In the sign as well as in the society men were presumptuousness much more importance and were favored over women. In the Anglo-Saxon period marriages were often arranged for political reasons to settle fe... ...ed subordinate and dependent on men. Today women are treated more as equal to men. However, things are still not perfect. There is still a softwood that needs to be changed.Wor ks CitedAbrams, M. H. et al. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Vol. 1. Sixth Edition. New York W.W. Norton, & Co. 1993. 76-144.Benson. Chaucer The Canterbury Tales. February 1997. October 24, 1998. Online. Internet. acquirable http icg.harvard.edu/eng115b/Bobr, Janet. Welcome to Camelot. 1998. October 24, 1998. Online. Internet. Available http www.csis.pace.edu/grendel/prjs3f/arthur1.htmCanterbury Tales. 1998. November 30, 1998. Online. Internet. Available http userzweb.lightspeed.net/cheezit/pilgrims/index.htmlJokinen, Anniina. Geoffrey Chaucer (ca. 1343-1400). July 1996. October 24, 1998. Online. Internet. Available http www.luminarium.org/medlit/chaucer.htm