Abstract
"The Wife of Bath" in "The Canterbury Tales", written by Geoffrey Chaucer is a fascinating character. Chaucer the Pilgrim admired her distinguishing characteristics and life experiences. She wanted to fashion her own idea about life. Her sexuality and arrogance make her stand out because those actions and attitudes were not common at the time the poem was written, during the fourteen century.
The Wife of Bath is an intrepid and courageous character even today, but to Chaucer's audience in the fourteenth century, she would stand out even more for defying the typical and standard roles of women at that time. During this time, a fourteenth century father or husband had the most power in the society. In fact, woman would be completely dependent on their father or husband. "The Wife of Bath" would be considered completely inferior in the public eye, making her completely dependent on a man for support (Perry, Peden and Von Laue 183). However, Chaucer's test different views like the inferior status of woman through "The Canterbury Tales".
