Characterization of the Wife of Bath

A woman from a place called Bath is such an impressive female character in the prologue that the name
has become very popular and legendary. This Wife of Bath is an expert weaver, and a dominating type of
woman. Her sexuality and independence is revealed vividly. She has had five husbands, leaving other
companies in youth. She enjoys talking and merry making.

She has traveled to many foreign lands, including Jerusalem and Rome. The narrator's mentioning of her
three visits to Jerusalem makes us believe that she is fond of traveling. She has been presented as the
most interesting secular figure in the prologue. The place Bath, where she comes from was a famous
place for its woolen cloth in the fourteenth century. She looks very elegant in her dress-up. Her
stockings are made of finest scarlet cloth and her shoes are glossy. She is gap-toothed and is also deaf in
one ear. She rides upon a nice horse. She represents the typical romantic woman of the fourteenth
century, who had started crossing the boundary of restrictions imposed upon women by the medieval
society. There are certain humorous facts about her. For instance, she is a good love-counselor. She
knows the best remedies of love. The Wife of Bath always seems to have had great power over men. Her
great interest arises when it comes to men and sex and she does not feel shy at all. She happily shows
her deceitful nature.

Some critics have felt that Chaucer's description of the Wife of Bath is so detailed and lifelike that he
must have been influenced by real character. Many critics even tried to find the real source, but all went
vain. In its place, he was influenced by a lot of literary sources such as works on astrology and also the
anti-women literature written in the middle ages.

The creation of the character of the wife of Bath is influenced by Chaucer’s idea of female stereotype.
The concept of regarding women as the main source of trouble, misogynist notion, is important in the
case of wife of Bath. The Wife of Bath is certainly is a troublemaker and does make her husbands suffer.
She is domineering and lustful, has a short temper and has a habit of telling lies on occasion. However,
these are not the actions of a stupid woman who cannot help herself. These are the actions of a woman
who is fully aware of what the stereotypes about women are and who is willing to use them to her own
advantage. She knows, for example, that women are supposed to be irrational, stubborn and emotional
while men are supposed to be calm, rational and reasonable. She makes them give in to her by saying
that their 'superior' male nature should make them give up the fight more easily. She therefore wins by
exploiting all the stereotypes about women. Chaucer exploits all the traditional things that men wrote
about women and creates a woman who is bigger than all of them. She is a very complex character, new
and original, but created out of the traditions which are very ancient.