The Wife of Bath 1: Prologue

Authority and Experience

The Wife of Bath’s Prologue is the longest of all in The Canterbury Tales. Indeed, it is roughly twice the length of the 400-line tale she finally gets around to telling (ll. 857-1264). It is difficult to know why Chaucer chose to give so much space to this character’s lengthy autobiography. But we do know that she is among the most fascinating of the pilgrims journeying to Canterbury.

Alison is her name (not to be confused with her “close friend” of the same name, first mentioned at ll. 529-30). She has been married five times, is in possession of a substantial estate (having inherited her husbands’ goods and property), and is currently wedded to Jankin, a “clerk” (i.e., civil servant, book-keeper) from Oxford whom she met through her friend Alison (ll. 525-29). It is not clear whether this Jankin might be the same character of a similar name (Janekin) who lived with the Wife and her previous husband as an “apprentice” (303).

The Wife’s first words are fighting words: a confident declaration that her experience of the world, though lacking the authority of books and book learning, is a firm foundation for knowledge about marriage—especially the “woe that is in marriage” (1-3). This tension between “experience” and traditional “authority” is a fundamental feature of the Prologue and of the Wife’s understanding of the “woe” she suffers in a world ruled by this “authority” and its dim view of women.

Below is a descriptive synopsis of the Prologue, breaking it down into a series of sections according to line numbers. This is followed by several prompts for today’s discussion.

Synopsis

• Wife defends her multiple marriages against what she sees as a misreading of authoritative texts, including the Bible (9-90)

• Moral perfection and chastity are fine and well; they’re just not for everyone, including her (91-114)

• Why the difference in sex organs? Surely they are not only meant for urination? (115-34)

• Again, nothing against chastity; it’s just not for me, says the Wife (135-48)

• Declares her sexual freedom—and her husbands’ duty! (149-62)

• Interlude: the Pardoner speaks up and the Wife responds (163-92)

• Three good husbands, two bad ones; and the good were rich and old (193-97)

• Why she liked having them around (198-223)

• Advice to women: deceive your husbands to maintain advantage (224-34)

The Wife now describes her interactions with these “good” husbands.

• Complains about their behavior (235-47)

• Complains about all the nasty things men say of her, and of women in general (248-378)—that she/they (supposedly) …

  • are bothersome, whether rich or poor, fair or not so fair (248-56)

  • are lusted after by others (257-81)

  • hide their faults until they are wed (282-92)

  • demand always to be praised for their beauty (293-302)

  • is cheating on him with their apprentice Janekin (303-307)

  Here the Wife pauses to plead for her freedom, and for her husband to be content with her and accept her as she is (308-36). She then resumes the list of things her husbands falsely say about her and women—that she/they …

  • dress provocatively and endanger their chastity (337-61)

  • are the worst of all earthly troubles (362-70)

  • offer a love that turns out to be Hell and the utter destruction of men (371-78)

Having laid out and argued against men’s complaints about women, the Wife now confesses her actual behavior. She …

• took out her anger on Janekin and her niece (379-94)

• accused her husband of infidelity to mask her own evening excursions (395-402)

• held sway over him by continually complaining (403-406)

• used sex to control him (407-18)

• never gave up in an argument (419-30)

• and yet showed great affection and thereby tamed him (431-50)

Having described the first three husbands—the “good” ones!—the Wife now describes her relationships with husbands four and five, the “bad” ones. First, husband #4:

• He had a “mistress” (454)—someone else, or her?

• She loved to mix wine and sex, even at risk of being abused, like the wife of someone named “Metellius” (455-68)

• Pause for nostalgia: Ah, the good ’ol days! (469-79)

• She repaid #4’s infidelities by pretending her own (481-94)

• But then he died, God rest his soul! (495-502)

So much for #4. Now for husband #5, Jankin:

• She was attracted to him, despite his terrible abuse of her (503-14)

• She declares that women are especially desirous of that which is withheld from them (515-24)

• She met Jankin, through her friend Alison, while she was still married to husband #4 (525-30)

• She shared her most intimate secrets (which angered husband #4) with three women: her niece, Alison, and “another worthy wife” (531-42)

• The three of them (the Wife, Alison, and Jankin) had much fun together, while #4 was away (543-62)

• The Wife and Jankin agree to marry in the event that #4 dies (563-68) …

• … even as she confesses that her motives were more practical than amorous (569-84)

  • embedded here is her false claim about a dream in which blood signifies gold(?)

• Jankin at husband #4’s funeral (587-604)

• Venus (love) and Mars (war or “boldness”): the Wife’s two natural inclinations (605-26)

• She marries Jankin, though comes to regret it: he gets her property; and he hits her so hard (for tearing a page out of his book) that she becomes deaf in one ear (627-36)

• What book? Like the first three husbands, #5 (Jankin) loves to cite learned writers (“authority,” remember?) to justify his misogyny (637-91)

• What if women had written these books? (692-96)

• Venus (lovers—partying and spending); Mercury (clerks—wisdom and knowledge): what means this parable? (697-710))

• Back to that torn page—and more misogynist “authority” (711-85)—see especially ll. 757-74

• The Wife’s anger at these cruel libels results in the physical altercation that caused her injury (786-810)

• But the couple is reconciled … and the Wife gains the upper hand (811-27)

So ends the Prologue.

Prompts

Choose one or more of the following (or, alternatively, a prompt of your own devising). Be sure to support your answer by referring to specific lines in the Prologue.

1. Where is the Wife most effective in countering the arguments from “authority” against women?

2. Choose a passage you find especially moving and explain why it is effective.

3. What is the significance of the dream at ll. 577-84?

4. Identify a passage that combines humor with pathos or sadness or anger—or any passage that combines otherwise contradictory emotional responses in the reader—and describe what makes it effective in this respect.

5. How might the description of the Wife in the General Prologue (ll. 445-76) affect our understanding of her Prologue?