Chaucer's Wife Of Bath, Allison, is a very interesting character. She almost seems
to be an early feminist, but is not by her own words. She has her own authoritarian views
on marriage, Scripture, and husband domination. Alison is one of the only characters who
actually reveals herself openly, through her prologue. She has a personality, and that
personality consists of her authority over her husbands, her own ideals on religion, and she
Allison establishes her authority on marriage and husbands through experience.
Because of her aggressive outset to prove authority, some may see her as a wicked
woman, and she is proud of this. "Experience, even if there were no other authority in this
world, would be grounds enough for me to speak of the woe that is marriage". She has
been married five times, the first at age twelve. Many people have criticized her, using as
proof the fact that Jesus only went to one wedding. But she feels that her five marriages
have only helped to build experience, and thus support her views. Those views being that
women want to have dominance over their husbands. So she uses her prologue to mimic
the way in which churchmen assert their authority-by quoting Scripture and works of
authority. She does in fact quote actual, biblical Scripture, but her "Bible" and works of
authority are her own experiences and marriages. Her speech carries undertones of
conflict with the male-dominant society, another reason to establish authority early.
Allison has her own view on Scripture and Gods plan. She claims that God wants
us to multiply and increase, and therefore being married more than once is okay. And
besides, she only has one husband at a time. Some of the great Old Testament figures had
many wives at once. She also attacks the church's view on virginity, saying that even if
virginity is important, someone must be
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