Who Painted the Leon? :: Chaucers The Canterbury Tales Essays

Who Painted the Leon?In Chaucers The Canterbury Tales, a reader is introduced to a rather bizarre and heterogeneous company of people leaving for a pilgrimage. The married woman of toilet is the most fire and lively character of the group. Her Prologue and Tale provide readers with a moral lesson as well as comic relief. The Wifes Prologue serves as an all overture to her Tale, in which she states a real important point regarding the nature of women and their most tabu desires. According to this character, women desire reign, or power, over their men most in the world. This manage seems to be most appropriate for women of the time period in which Chaucer lived. However, women today no longer wish to dominate their men - sovereignty of women over men is not relevant in the twenty-first century. The moderateness is that women are no longer deprived of power and freedom. According to the Wife of Bath, sovereignty, or power, over their husbands is what women desire most in their lives Wommen desire to view sovereineteeAs wel over hir housbonde as hir loveAnd for to been in maistrye him above (1044-1046).However, which powers merely is the Wife of Bath talking about? It seems that materialistic power is what Alisoun marrow - women wish to control their husbands estates and other economic holdings. In her Prologue the Wife of Bath describes her last, fifth, marriage to Janekin. After a huge fight with him, caused by Alisouns snap pages out of his book of wicked wives, Janekin grants her the control over the house and the land, what serves her very happy, and she treats her husband with kindness from then on He yaf me al the bridel in myn hand,To han the governance of hous and land...After that day we hadde nevere debat.God help me so, I was to him as kindeAs any wif from Denmark unto Inde...(819-820, 828-830).Therefore, according to the Wife of Baths Prologue, economic power over their husbands is what women wished to have. However, later, in her Tale th e Wife of Bath presents another opinion - women wish to have emotional power over their husbands as well. The fact that the beldame is able to decide for herself whether to turn into a beautiful wife or to remain in her present state, manifests her power over the husband. It is up to her whether to make the knight the happiest men on earth or to make him short for as long as she lives