tale. The loquacious Alison spends a good deal of the prologue espousing her.
views regarding marriage and virginity, using her knowledge of the scriptures to.
add strength to her arguments. For instance, she argues that there is nothing.
wrong with her having had five husbands, pointing out that Solomon had hundreds.
of wives. In another debate, she argues that despite the teaching of the Church.
that virginity is "a greater good than the most virtuous of marriages," there is.
no biblical comment opposing marriage(Bowden 77). Even though these ideas may.
not seem so radical to today's reader, they would have been considered blasphemy.
to people of Chaucer's time (Howard 143).
The tale itself raises another religious discussion of the time: Who.
should have the upper hand within a marriage? King Arthur gives the task of.
sentencing the nefarious knight to his wife, who proposes that his life will be.
spared if he can find the answer to the question: "What thing is it that wommen.
most desiren?" Following a fruitless search for the answer, the knight happens.
upon a loathsome hag who forces the knight to marry her after she supplies the.
answer. After explaining that women covet power over their husbands most of all,.
the termagant begins her goal of obtaining just that. Here it is important to.
note that many of the people of England during this time would have abhorred the.
woman who attempted to gain sovereignty over her husband; for the Bible.
"definitely states that woman is to be subject to her husband"(Howard 143).
Witnessing the young man in sorrow at his fate, the newlywed woman asks the.
knight if he would rather have her be old and faithful or young and possibly not.
When he leaves the decision up to her, thus giving her authority over him, the.
hag is magically metamorphosed into a beautiful, young woman.
Having analyzed the period of Chaucer and how it relates to the Wife of.
Bath's tale, an obvious question arises: How did Chaucer personally feel about.
