In the stories of King Lear, The Faerie Queene and The Wife of Bath’s Prologue, women are represented by the roles in which they play in the British culture in which they lived in. Each tells a story of the impact they made on society though communicating the culture in which they were present. Culture, in a sense, is a set of rules or standards shared by members of a society, which when acted upon by the members, produces behavior that falls within a range of variation that the members consider acceptable. British culture in the sixteenth century, focused mainly on the actions of men while the women took a back seat. Although, not always positive, this back seat was at times influential in the decision making of the men. In addition, each back seat driver was responsible for manipulation, as presented by King Lear’s daughters in King Lear, chastity, as presented by Britomart in The Faerie Queene, and sexual power by The Wife of Bath in The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. Consequently, each character shines as they portray a persona of great influential capability as they begin to fascinate the audience by relating their individual tales to their cultural herstory.
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It is apparent that this woman was culturally domineering in her efforts to have the upper hand in her marriages. Britomart is a strong warrior, which reflects the strength of will that the virtue of chastity gives a person.
Geoffrey Chaucer, author of The Wife of Bath’s Prologue, depicts the culture of his time by The Wife of Bath’s ideals about sex and marriage. As defined in the Oxford English Dictionary, chastity is, “Purity from unlawful sexual intercourse”, in other words, no sex before marriage. This power is so strong that she has no back seat role; in fact her front seat role is to use this power as an instrument to control her husbands. The poem’s setting is a mythical “Faerie land”, also known as England, and ruled by the faerie queene, also known as Queen Elizabeth. He begins by asking, “Tell me, my daughters- since now we will divest us, both of rule, interest of territory, cares of state- which of you shall we say doth love us most?” and whoever answers to his liking may have the gift of his land (Shakespeare l. The Wife of Bath begins the Prologue to her tale by establishing herself as an authority on marriage due to her personal experiences. Guided by a vision through a magic mirror, she searches for her future husband, Arthegall. Disloyal in truth, both Goneril and Regan answer to his liking, “Sir, I love you more than words can wield the matter” (Shakespeare 1. Although not always positive, each woman left an imprint of their presence through the actions in which they took part of. They are true representations of the different types of roles women played.
Approximate Word count =
1324
Approximate Pages =
5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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