Chaucer's Wife of Bath: Feminist or Failure?

The Wife of Bath is a complex character-she isn't what she seems to be, and maybe not even what she herself thinks she is. On the surface, it seems as though she is a feminist, defending the rights and power of women over men in both her prologue and tale. But when looked at from the point of view of a man of the time, her entire image seems to shift. Though the Wife of Bath seems to see herself as a feminist, it is quite unlikely that any man of the time period saw her in the same light; rather she seems to illustrate all of the wrongs that men found in women. She is a perfect example of a "failed feminist," a weak parody of what men see feminists as.

We learn the most about the Wife of Bath from her prologue, as this is when we learn not about the story of someone else, but her own history and beliefs. What better way to learn about someone than to have them talk about themselves? It appears that in her telling of her own tale, she tries to make herself sound like a feminist and a strong, powerful, independent woman-this is apparent from the moment she begins to tell about all of her husbands. She considers her many marriages a sort of affirmation of her sexuality. She wants others to see her as the kind of woman who won't let the standards that the society of the time have set get in the way of getting what she wants, especially if what she wants is the opposite sex.