Wife of Bath Questions

1) I think that the message the tale is trying to convey is that a woman can become the dominant one in the marriage. During this time women assumed the submissive role and I think that what the Wife of Bath is trying to tell us is that a woman does not have to be a doormat for her husband. If she is smart and manipulative enough she can have things under her control. At the end of the tale the old woman asks her husband if he'd rather have her old and ugly or beautiful. He tells her that the deicision is upto her. She then says to him "Then I have got mastery over you".

2) I would pick Emma Thompson to play her. She has played in a lot of Shakespeare and Jane Austin movies. I thought she was great in those movies and I would enjoy watching her play the Wife of Bath. She is very talented and I think that she could make any character come to life. I think that she speaks very clearly and pronounces her words in such a way that you can not misunderstand what she is saying. I think that is very important especially if an actor or actress is going to be a narrator.

3) I think that Chaucer is not fond of the idea of marriage. In this tale the knight and the old woman get married because she helped him and marrying the old woman was his repayment to her. It is obvious that the knight does not want to marry her, but he keeps his word. After they are married we really see how the knight is trapped into something that he does not want. In the Miller's tale an old carpenter married a young beautiful wife who became unfaithful to him. At the end of the tale she takes away all of her husbands pride and dignity just to hide her behavior. I think that Chaucer may approve of marriage if it is for love. These tales show us how unhappy and the actions people will take in an unwanted marriage.