Do you find the depiction of the Wife of Bath to be feminist or antifeminist?
Medieval Feminism
ENGL 361 and WGST 322 | Spring 2020 | Dr. Myra Seaman
Do you find the depiction of the Wife of Bath to be feminist or antifeminist?
I think this depiction of the Wife of Bath falls somewhere in the middle. She is being portrayed in an antifeminist stance in reference to her manipulative and cunning tendencies. While now a days, it might be seen as taking advantage of a patriarchal structure, during the time period it was written she would be seen as purely manipulative. She does however seem to think like a feminist. She is questioning the double standard of how many times a man can be married, and how many times a woman can be married. She does, again, exhibit these antifeminist beliefs by conforming to misogynist stereotypes- specifically the hyper sexualization of women. I think that the wife of bath is somewhat forced to think that the only tool at her disposal is sex.
I am not sure that I could definitely say whether I think the Wife of Bath to be a feminist or an antifeminist. I see feminism in the way that she seems to be sex positive, however I believe that she really meant only within marriage. She also seems to only view sex from the perspective of procreating. I think that that view forces women into the category of being wives and mothers, which I would definitely say is antifeminist. I think this is an interesting question because she is using sex to her advantage in a way that is empowering to her, however her morals are definitely not in the right place in the way that she messes with her husbands.
The Wife of Bath’s prologue to me is a little bit both feminist and antifeminist. The wife of bath isn’t represented in the most flattering matter, and is thought of to be a sort of problematic woman as she does what she wants and seems to enjoy having had multiple husbands. From this time period’s perspective, this description of a woman is very antifeminist, while from a modern perspective it is almost the exact definition of feminism. “Men may advise a woman to be one, but advice is not commandment” she says on lines 66-67. There is a lot of medieval ideals of marriage and the way women should act integrated in this story, which of most are considered antifeminist in nature. The way in which the wife of bath challenges many marriage and woman ideals, though, is very feminist.
As many of my peers have stated, the Wife of Bath’s Prologue can be seen as both feminist and anti-feminist due to the varying rage of examples and descriptions that the Wife of Bath gives. However, while, yes, she is a sexually liberated woman who fully embraces her sexuality, she also uses it as a condition to obtain money. By doing so, using her body as a method to get what she wants, is viewable in two different ways: (1) she is a sexually liberated woman who uses her advantages and opportunities to overpower men, thus making her a feminist, or (2) by persuading men and using sex and her body as a tool, she is subjectively falling into medieval notions that women are tricksters and are greedy, as seen throughout texts that we have read so far like Marie’s Lanval and Sir Gawain. So, while the Wife of Bath is more freeing than other female characters that appear in literature during her age, she also falls into different categories that would designate her as a model of misogyny.
I agree with my peers as well that there are ways to read The Wife of Bath as either a feminist story, an anti-feminist story, or both. However, considering the time period in which the story was written, I’m going to argue that it falls mostly under being a feminist story. I’ve always seen it as a woman using every tool at her disposal to equate herself to men and gain sovereignty, while subtly convincing men to give their wives at least some agency too by saying that is the answer to the question of “what do all women want?” She also uses women hating rhetoric to her advantage, like the idea that women are manipulative. She definitely is, but it’s by choice to get what she wants and not born of her nature as she states, which is what men think. I also think her arguing that her experience in marriage trumps the authority men are given just for being men, even men who have no experience with marriage yet, is justified, and she makes a compelling case for it. Now this is all well and good, but when she speaks of her husbands, she doesn’t say they see her as equal. She says she’s gained sovereignty over them, and while this means she’s gained power over herself, it could also imply that she’s gained power over her husbands. And one sex dominating another is not what feminism is, so it could also be argued that if she wants women to be the supreme power, then she’s technically anti feminist.
While I agree with everything my peers have pointed out in regard to how the Wife of Bath is a mix of both a feminist and an antifeminist, I believe she leans more towards the side of a feminist. While her intentions are manipulative and strong, they come from a place of looking for power through sex and wealth, which she can only get from men through marriage. She appears to see the limiting issue of only being able to obtain what she desires through the power of a man, which is why she points out the conflict of “why shouldn’t a woman be able to have as many husbands as she wishes?”. While this does sound a bit selfish, I believe that she asks this question to point out the division between women and men’s social capabilities that surrounds her.
I think the wife of bath falls somewhere in the middle of the scale because she embraces her sexuality and gains a sense of power from it. But on the other hand, she can be seen as anti feminist because she is manipulative and uses her body to gain control over men and to make them submissive to her. She is not looking for equality or to be on the same plane as her husbands but rather she wants to be the one in charge and take all the power away from her husbands.
Like most of my peers, I, too, believe that there is somewhat a bit of both feminism and anti-feminism. Ant-feminism can be depicted through how the wife of bath gains power and controls her husbands through her sexual attributes. She never tries to gain equal status with her husbands but instead uses violence to get what she wants from them. Although she possesses anti-feministic qualities, she’s portrayed as strong with lots of courage. I feel like there’s going to be more female empowerment throughout the story which makes it overall more feminist.
I am in agreeance with what everyone has been mentioning throughout their blog comments that the The Wife of Bath’s depiction indicates mostly a feminist view. The Wife of Bath shows her strength and power by understanding the collective struggle women have when it comes to dealing with the unevenness of power that men have. For instance, The Wife of Bath puts her focus on having power through ways that are normally seen as something men have. She wants to be her own person with the ability to decide on herself, which she displays well within the story.
Like almost everyone has stated above, the Wife of Bath is a gray area when it comes to if she is feminist or not. I’ve always thought that the Wife of Bath had a lot of agency in a way that is that modern audience tends to ignore how she got to a point where she could marry for love even if it was bad. However, she’s written by a man, Chaucer, who is not exactly a feminist hero. As mentioned above she is portrayed as a manipulative woman with her husbands, however, while many would claim that’s what makes it antifeminist. I’d argue that her ability to manipulate the situations she has is this pseudo form of feminism that a woman of her status in the 13th or 12th century could access. She isn’t inherently some feminist hero, but she has these situational feminist moments.