Wife of Bath (Section 5)
This is where the Wife of Bath's first tale actually begins. Up to this point we had only had a prologue, a background really, that described the Wife of Bath. But now we are really starting to get into her actual story.
She begins telling her tale by first giving a background to the times in which her tale occurs, in the time of King Arthur. At first her tale seems sweet and innocent as she describes faeries, elves, and other randomly inserted creatures. Then the tale takes a dark turn. She tells the story of a knight of King Arthur who in a dishonorable move raped a young maiden. After he was caught King Arthur and almost sentenced to death, the women of Arthur's court beg King Arthur to not kill the knight without giving him one chance to save himself. The task presented by Arthur's Queen, is that the knight has one year to discover what women want most.
I feel that the entire passage I read actually, instill a sense of both pride for the Wife of Bath and a sense of self power. It almost seems as if she prides herself on details and gives the readers an idea of her confidence and assurance. A trait that wasn't seen at all in women of this time period. Perhaps Chaucer isn't trying to create a completely new character outlook, rather it seems as if he is trying to give voice to the POV of the women of his time in a creative way.
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