A group of travelers is going to Canterbury. They are telling stories to pass the time. Among them is a woman who speaks loudly and boldly. She is the Wife of Bath. She is different from other women. She is not shy. She is not quiet. She has lived a full life and has no regrets. She has been married five times and is proud of it. She knows about love, marriage, and men. She believes she is an expert on these matters.
Before telling her story, she gives a long speech about her life and her beliefs. This speech is called The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. She does not believe that women should always obey men. Instead, she thinks women should have power in marriage. She says that men and women always fight over control in a relationship. But she believes that a marriage is happiest when the wife is in charge. She wants to prove that she is right.
She uses examples from religious texts to support her ideas. She says that many holy men in the Bible had many wives. For example, King Solomon had many wives, but no one said it was wrong. So why should people say that a woman cannot have many husbands? She argues that there is no rule that says a woman must marry only once. She also talks about Saint Paul, who said that being married is better than living in sin. She uses these religious examples in her own way to justify her five marriages.
Then, she begins to tell the story of her own marriages. She explains how she controlled her first four husbands. These husbands were older and rich. They loved her and gave her everything she wanted. But she was clever. She knew how to get her way. Sometimes she would accuse them of being unfaithful, even when they did nothing wrong. Sometimes she would refuse to sleep with them until they agreed to obey her. She played these tricks to get power in her marriages.
But her fifth husband was different. His name was Jankyn. He was young and handsome. Unlike her other husbands, he did not obey her. He did not let her control him. He was a scholar, and he loved to read. He had a book full of stories about wicked wives. These stories said that women are evil, unfaithful, and dangerous. Every night, he would read from this book. He would laugh and tell her that women cause all the problems in the world.
This made the Wife of Bath very angry. She could not tolerate this insult. One day, she became so furious that she grabbed the book and tore some pages. Jankyn became angry too. He hit her so hard that she fell down. She pretended to be dead. When Jankyn saw this, he became scared. He thought he had killed her. He felt guilty. He begged for forgiveness. When she finally got up, she told him that if he wanted her love, he must let her have control in their marriage. Jankyn agreed. From that day, she ruled over him. She says that after this, they lived happily together.
When she finishes her speech, the other travelers react in different ways. Some find her funny. Some find her shocking. Some do not agree with her ideas. But no one can ignore her. She is a woman who speaks her mind. She does not care what people think of her.
Chaucer creates a unique character in the Wife of Bath. She is very different from the women of medieval times. In those days, women were expected to be obedient and silent. They were supposed to serve their husbands. But the Wife of Bath does not accept these rules. She is bold, clever, and confident. She does not believe that men should control women. She believes that women should have power.
Some readers see her as a strong and independent woman. Others see her as manipulative and selfish. But she is a very interesting character. She makes people think about marriage, love, and power. Even today, her words can make people debate. Is she right or wrong? That is for the reader to decide.
