the wife of bath what went on in the book?

Answer 1

The Wife of Bath is one of the most interesting characters in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Chaucer describes her in the Prologue, lines 447-478. From these lines, we learn a few things:
-she is a little deaf
-she is respectable
-she was married five times (very important when you get to her tale)
-she is well-traveled
-she has a gap in teeth (not really important, but interesting)

The fact that she was married five times is important. Why? What happens in her tale? First, you must understand that her tale takes place in a fairy land. Expect some magic. A knight (symbolic of all men) is accused of rape and is brought before the queen. The queen tells the knight that he will be free of all charges if he can come back in a year with the answer to a very simple question. What's the question?

"What thyng is it that wommen moost desiren"

i.e. What do most women desire?

So the knight goes off looking for the answer. He meets an old woman who tells him she will answer his question if he grants her a wish. He agrees. She tells him women want sovereignty in marriage. The queen accepts the answer and the old lady says her wish is to marry the knight. The knight refuses because the lady is old and ugly. Later in the tale, the old lady transforms herself into a young, beautiful woman, they get married, and they live happily ever after. I skipped a lot of stuff because I am quickly losing interest in this question.

So, what does this tale say about the Wife of Bath? What does she think about marriage? Why do you think she chose to set her tale in a fairy land as opposed to the real world? How do you think she perceives beauty? Is it skin deep? Is beauty in the eye of beholder, in her opinion?

I hope that helps.
Happy reading!!!

Answer 2

The Wife of Bath had an amorous nature and a habit of going on pilgrimages in the book 'The Canterbury Tales', by Geoffrey Chaucer.
*Thanks for the thumbs down, I often get them.*