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WOB - Coggle Diagram
WOB
context
first piece of established work in english after it was made the language of the court (had been french before)
chaucer was v influential, within the court of three diff kings, also a spy - under edward iii, he had to go to diff countries as a spy
1350 - captured while serving in france and ransomed, 1366 - married philipa rouet, 1367 - climbs up the ladder, travels a lot for the king to france
why is literally any of this relevant
writes troilus and criseyde - the traditions of courtly love - standards of romantic behaviour - idealised vs cent tales which is about real people
appointed clerk to the king
amar ghum ashcheeeee
clergy men are criticised = zed
estates: 1. clergy/church, 2. nobility, 3. everybody else
husbands good ones: first three husbands 194 - 450, bad ones: last two
what makes them good is their wealth 197 - able to dominate them by turning their arguments against them
440 - she's unwilling to compromise
after husband submits - she lets them be
455- 4th husband was an adulterer - she flirts w other men and makes him jealous but doesn't actually cheat - unreliable narrator? is she hiding sth from them
500 - no point spending money on funeral - transactional - monetary nature of marriage
5th husband tries to dominate her
maistrie - essential to happy marriage
prologue
longer than the actual tale - satirical
850 lines, comparatively much longer prologue
logic/argument
contextualises the tale shes about to tell - tells her experience wich she said in the beginning is mnore imp than authority
marriage : 1-162, 194-828, WBT
CHURCH WAS 100% AGAINST SEX FOR PLEASURE - and wob uses sex to control husbands - "majesty" dominating the husbands
99 - 104. says that bible allows her not to be perfect - manipulation bc actual verse says that you MUST TRY TO BE PERFECT AT LEAST
62 - 64 st paul was known as a misogynist
chaucer shows wob siting all these texts - reveals how much chaucer himself knows abt the bible/ how well read HE is
are these references intentional? manipulation? mistake? hypocrisy - satire - audiences would've picked up on this
39 - "refresshed" - euphemism
sites Solomon - knows for his wisdom - had 700 wives and 300 prostitutes - this turned Sol away from god - misses the point/manipulates again - undermines her argument - irony bc she says thats what she wants to be but he turned away from god
113-116 if god gave us genitals why wouldnt we use them
25-31 manipulates again, bible says go and multiply, she's using that as justification to having sex, again misses the point
constant contradiction 21-22, tries to justify multiple marriage - misses the point of the story, manipulates it, says that the fact that there is a woman w 5 marriages is enough reason
experience as a woman > church authority, challenges male authority? or ultimately agreeing? 1- 7
pardoner - gets her to start talking abt her own five husbandsand - puts male person in his place - lol foreshadow?
pardoner interruption - introduces the theme of marriage -
questions
Explore how Chaucer presents the Wife’s
rebellion against voices of authority
in The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale, by referring to lines 77-114 and one other extract of similar length. You must relate your discussion to relevant contextual factors.
appropriate selection of similar length passage to accompany the named lines, e.g. her argument about Jankin’s book by ‘Valerie and Theofraste’ • ways in which Chaucer presents the Wife as constantly challenging authority in her arguments and actions • ways in which the presentation of the Wife’s character and actions reveals reasons for her arguments, e.g. the opening lines of her Prologue • ways in which the arguments over authority reflect debates at the time in church and society • significance of the debate about authority in the context of pilgrimage, with the implied challenge to the priest, Pardoner and other authority figures • Chaucer’s presentation of the Wife’s language and rhetoric.
Explore how Chaucer presents the Wife’s
treatment of her husbands
in The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale, by referring to lines 194-223 and one other extract of similar length. You must relate your discussion to relevant contextual factors.
Explore how the Wife of Bath is presented as a
storyteller
in The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale, by referring to lines 1–23 and one other extract of similar length. You must relate your discussion to relevant contextual factors.
appropriate selection of similar length passage to accompany the named lines, e.g., the Wife’s direct quotation of the arguments she used to outwit her old husbands Chaucer’s presentation of the relationship between the tale and teller contrast between the down-to-earth tone of the Wife’s prologue and the fairy-tale structure of the Knight’s quest Chaucer’s use of convincing verisimilitude, e.g. she tells her stories but interrupts to give her honest opinions tradition of religious pilgrimage as a means of social interaction, e.g. the Wife loves to meet people and tell her stories Chaucer’s use of the Wife’s stories to articulate contemporary moral values the liveliness and humour expressed in her superficially haphazard narrative
Explore how
marriage
is presented in The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale, by referring to lines 35–58 and one other extract of similar length. You must relate your discussion to relevant contextual factors.
appropriate selection of similar length passage to accompany the named lines, e.g. the reconciliation of the Wife and Jankyn Wife’s presentation of herself as an expert on marriage various ways in which she manipulates the scriptures in her defence of marriage Wife’s preoccupation with sex in marriage, e.g. ‘To be refresshed half so ofte as he!’ Wife’s use of marriage to secure wealth and social status and how this reflects the social role of women in Medieval society exploration of power relationships between men and women in marriage use of the Knight’s narrative to show how a wife’s sovereignty can benefit both men and women Wife’s barbed links between chastity and wealth as a possible comment on the Catholic clergy.
the tale
has been told many times - by chaucer's friend as well
itd from metamorphosis - in the person that knows is the barber and not the wife - men are just as gossipy -- argument again
a version of another tale - he doesnt have a choice in the WOB's tale -
the choice in other versions of the tale - beautiful by day and ugly by night, or the other way around - wob changes the tale according to her story
actual fucking context
right after black plague - half the population died
WOB is one of only 3 women on the pilgrimage
not written for the masses - v few people were educated
brave of him to go against the church
Presentation of WOB
likeable, yet confused, manipuative, insufferable, rejects a lot of tradition, chaucer uses her to make strong criticisms of men, and almost caricaturised, hyperbole, clever, maistree is the way bc men deserve it?,
not black and white, very human, says her mother tells her to use men, 574
not educated but street smart
pilgrimage to canterbury - to the shrine of Thomas Becket - archbishop
satire of the reasons people go on pilgrimages - i.e. the WOB been on many pilgrimages - the clergymen as well
frame story - story thats been given a bigger framework - all these individual stories within the bigger frame of the pilgrimage - Host at Southwark inn suggested everyone to tell a story on the way
Boccachio, The Decameron - influence and also framed story - group of young women take shelter from the plague in a big house outside the city and tell each other stories - promiscuity and a bit dirty
the marriage grouping: beginning of WOB prologue - Friar PnT - Clerks P. kicked off by the WOB