The Wife of Bath's Tale is a tale about a woman who has been married five times and is on the hunt for husband number six. The woman is a self-described expert in marriage and desires sovereignty over her husbands. Throughout the tale, the woman is very mouthy and enjoys talking about her marital experiences.
The woman states that her favorite virtue is power, which she seeks through her body. In the tale, the woman misinterprets the Bible in order to justify her marital conquests. She says just like King Solomon, she should be able to have many spouses. According to the woman, wives should not be required to submit to their husbands as commanded by Saint Paul. To say the least, religion and marriage are not painted in a great light in this tale & prologue.
It becomes apparent that the Wife of Bath may behave the way she does because of past sexual experiences. It was stated that the woman married at 12 after her husband lusted after her and she became pregnant. The wife apparently was abused in the past as well, although she shows the most sympathy for the husband who abused her to most.
The Wife of Bath finished her tale by stating that if a man wants to have power over his wife, curse him for such a request.
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