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Was The Wife Of Bath A Feminis - Online Essays

Was The Wife Of Bath A Feminis

Would you say that the Wife of Bath is "pro-feminist," or "anti-feminist," or neither?
Chaucer has chosen to project his views towards feminism through the wife and her views and attitudes. Many literary critics throughout the years have labeled the Wife of Bath a feminist. She is a strong-willed and dominant woman who gets what she wants when she wants it. However, this is not the definition of a feminist. A feminist is someone who believes that women and men are equal, while also is able to recognize and appreciate the unique characteristics of both sexes. A feminist celebrates what it means to be a woman. Chaucer did not mean for his character to be interpreted as a feminist. If ...

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which she rips pages out of her husband's extremely sexist book. He proceeds to hit her in the head, causing her to fall to the floor in pain. This seems like an act of female liberation, but it is far from that. She did not think the horribly sexist stories her husband read to her were untrue. In fact, the stories sounded like something the Wife of Bath, herself, would say. She lashes out because she can not face her flaws. The Wife of Bath actually says that women can have no one "reprove us for our vice, but say we are wise and not at all foolish...there is not one of us who will not kick for being told the truth". The fact that she flies into a rage when being presented with the very things she practices daily, unable to look at herself truthfully, is not feminism. The Wife of Bath's actions also stem from her strong greed and need for control. That particular husband, her fifth one, was the only one she could not control. The desperate guilt he feels after hitting her puts her ...

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 8/2/2008 01:27:32 PM
Category: English
Type: Free Paper
Words: 1141
Pages: 5

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