The Wife of Bath's View That Sovereignty is a Woman's Virtue in Marriage

In The Wife of Bath's Tale, Chaucer focuses on a woman who desires to be independent in her marriage as she believes that a woman should play an influential role in the decision-making that takes place inside a marriage. The Wife of Bath is a domineering figure as she takes advantage of men's lust in order to exercise her dominance over the men she marries. In his treatment of The Wife of Bath, Geoffrey Chaucer has Alison claim that women should be able to do as they please without the interference or opposition of men. I will argue that Chaucer presents the perspective of Alison, the Wife of Bath, in such a way that the reader is inclined to agree with her, rather than to ridicule her.

The Wife of Bath believes that she embodies love and commitment, but her lack of femininity also reveals how paradoxical and imbalanced her world view is. She wears the letter "A" that stands for "Amor Vincit Omnia" (love prevails over all), but she displays a lack of female qualities such as compassion. The Wife of Bath views herself as embodying female virtue, but her exterior reveals only an unattractive, ferocious appearance. The conflict between her internal and external appearance reveals how her view of marriage is inherently contradictory. She views marriage as a means for commitment but also a vehicle for women's independence. The Wife of Bath perceives marriage as based on virtue, and yet her unusual sexual appetite diverges from femininity and commitment. Her desire to control men is reflected in how she empowers men in a sexual manner in order to prove her superiority over them. She ultimately views sovereignty as the means for a woman to be independent while also committed to her husband. Her conflicted view of marriage reflects how she is open-minded but also very reserved in terms