The Equality of Women in Chaucers Wife of Bath
The Equality of Women in Chaucer's Wife of Bath There have been many different interpretations of what Geoffrey Chaucer stood for, butone of the most argued is that of the equality of women. As seen in several of Chaucer's works,this is especially exhibited in the Canterbury Tales. Although some scholars debate that he wasonly writing down what he saw in his present society, others insist that he was very much anadvocate for the equality of women. With his character the Wife of Bath, Chaucer is able to showhow Renaissance women lived under the submission of men before and during marriage, wherethey stood after marriage, and how that they dreamed for the equality of women. The women that lived during the Renaissance Period were principally submissive undermen. According to Margaret Hallissy, Whatever her estate, woman needs rules. She needs thembecause she is fallen, fallen through Eve, whose punishment was to be subordinate to her husband,as are all her daughters to their husbands in their turn, to the end of time (9).This statementshows the attitude toward women during the Renaissance time period. Women were to do whatthey were told and if they did not then the man could punish them just as G
She was married at the ageof twelve because that was what she was told to do by her father. Elaine Hansen feels that at this time the women are questioning why they are in thissubmissive role and whether or not it is really consti-tuted by the Bible (31). With this,Chaucer is trying to create a happy medium for both sexes in which they have an equally balancedmarriage. The only equality that women had in this time was in sexuality within the marriage. The women ofChaucer's time are crying out for an equalization between the sexes and through the Wife of Bath,Chaucer shows his sympathy. The Wife of Bath's tale in the book is what the women of the Renaissance, and women ofall times, have wanted which is equality with men. "A master of parody, Alisoun turns Jerome's words back on themselves," says MaryCarruthers (26). The widows during this time were thought to show the grief and anguish fortheir husbands because that was to be their life's devotion. In the end the old womanchanges into a beautiful young wife because the Knight gives himself into her control. At thistime, the Church controlled sex because too much sex was seen as sinful and when they weredisinterested in sex it was good because this was close to the purity in virginity (Hallissy, 12). With this, the old woman requires him to marry her tofulfill his promise to her. She also refers to other texts like Valerius and Theophrastus and Jovinian, which are antifeminist texts, in a way that was backward in order to suit her own uses ofthe works. "Chaucer makes the rape a personal injury directedagainst a woman, not a property crime directed against her husband or father" which takes out themale interest factor that is present during the Renaissance period (Hallissy, 180).
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