The Wife of Bath AO3 Flashcards
James Winny
“she has overthrown the prohibitive morality of the medieval Church and planted her own pragmatic doctrine on the ruins”
Winny’s view of the Wife as a fully realised human individual
“her indiscretions and shortcomings do not stand as types of moral weakness, but as details of a complicated personality”
Lee Patterson’s view on what the Tale is about and its message
“The Wife of Bath’s Tale is about transformation”
“[its] own message for social transformation is that the rich should act with virtue, not arrogance, and the poor should see their state as a blessed opportunity for spiritual well-being”
Patterson’s view of the Wife’s manipulation
“a medieval woman was dependant on her husband, losing almost all legal and financial rights”, her manipulation “reflects that”, but “widows gained legal autonomy and usually inherited one-third of the property”
Helen Phillips about the Wife’s verbal manipulation
“she tempts us into talking about what she says or does, rather than what Chaucer is doing in his presentation of her”
Clifford P. Lyons
“It is not strange that critics […] should be eager to find every possible example of dramatic effectiveness in the story of the trip to Canterbury”
Lyons’ view of what Chaucer is displaying
“her eccentricity in the Tale side by side with the story of the knight, as a kind of counterpoint to the psychological and moral problem we observe in the plot”
Lucinda Rumsey
“[Chaucer’s] affection for her is communicated to the reader”
Rumsey’s view on impressions of the Wife after learning on her history
“the reader, along the narrator of the General Prologue, seems to be building upon first impressions and gradually getting to know her”
Claire Newman
“In the fourteenth century education was a privilege of the rich and powerful, rarely bestowed upon women”
Newman on Chaucer’s listeners
“listeners would gather together to share a narrative, rather than enjoying it in isolation as we tend to do”
Newman on the Wife’s ideas of virginity
“she then extends her topic by challenging the idea that virginity is preferable to marriage”
Newman on the Wife’s arguments
“the Wife’s appropriation of a masculine, scholarly method of argument indicates her lack of deference to authority”
Newman on the Wife’s choice of language in her opening speech
“homely, proverbial, statements which suggest her down-to-earth, practical nature”
