Question

As the narrator, the wife of bath comments extensively about the answers to the knights question. What do her comments reveal about her values and ideas?

Answer 1

Before the Wife begins her tale, she shares information about her life and her experiences in a prologue. The Wife of Bath begins her lengthy prologue by announcing that she has always followed the rule of experience rather than authority. Having already had five husbands "at the church door," she has experience enough to make her an expert. She sees nothing wrong with having had five husbands and cannot understand Jesus' rebuke to the woman at the well who also had five husbands. Instead, she prefers the biblical command to go forth and multiply.

To defend her position, the Wife refers to King Solomon, who had many wives, and to St. Paul's admonishment that it is better to marry than to burn. Having shown a knowledge of the Bible, she challenges anyone to show her that God commanded virginity. Furthermore, sexual organs are made both for functional purposes and for pleasure. And unlike many cold women, she has always been willing to have sex whenever her man wants to.

Answer 2

The wife is old, ugly and lowborn. Even the knight tells it to her on their wedding night. It is also decadent for the knight who might have been wed to a beautiful woman. Therefore, the woman is really careful and shrewd. Using her wiles she tries to make the knight marry her.