Women and Equality
Women have not always had the respect and equality they have today. Throughout history, women were inferior to men. Women lived in a male-dominated society that portrayed women as an inferior race. Over the years, women eventually gained the rights and opportunities that generations before them lacked. It was the strong-hearted, courageous, and motivated women of the past who fought for equality, and did not give up until they achieved it. Chaucer appears to be one of the first authors of his time to support women by creating two very strong-willed and successful women in the Wife of Bath, and the hag in the Wife of Bath's tale. By giving these women characteristics of strength, courage, and confidence, and by exemplifying the divergent roles women played, Chaucer contradicts the gender roles and stereotypes of his time that had dictated extremely subservient lives for women. The Wife of Bath's prologue and tale reveal that power is not important, and that true happiness can only be attained through equality.Through the eyes of his woman characters, Chaucer points out that there is far too much reliance on power (Kittredge). This constant power struggle was responsible for the horrible distortion of women's characters an
She then offers him a choice to have her ugly and faithful or beautiful and unchaste. She has handily married five times and then upon her husbands death inherited his wealth and fortune (Norton). She states several examples of how her society treated women unfairly. " (Lines 531-532)The Wife of Bath's experience with her five husbands can easily be compared to everyday situations that contemporary women go through. He would be able to live if a year and a day later he can tell the queen and king what it is that women most desire. (Norton) In the End, even though she brags about her shameless manipulation of her husbands and claims that her sexual powers can conquer anyone, she reveals her softer side and deep fondness for the one man she could not control. This shows the many conflicts that can arise in relationships. Women can relate to the various feelings the Wife of Bath had for her husbands. She wanted to attain complete dominance over her men (Lines 247-263). She can practically be considered a sex symbol of her generation (Kittredge). She admits that most women want what they cannot have and run away from what they can have. "(line12-13, Norton GP) The Wife then argues that Christ's own men had multiple wives, yet it is only women who are looked down upon for multiple marriages (Hladik). The moral of the Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale is that men and women should be equal and the power struggles that have lasted so long between the two genders should finally end.
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Acceptance Essays
