Compare and contrast the characters of the Wife of Bath and the Prioress.

Compare and contrast the characters of the Wife of Bath and the Prioress.

The Wife of Bath represents the "liberal" extreme in regards to female stereotypes of the Middle Ages. Unlike most women being anonymous during the Middle Ages, she has a mind of her own and voices herself. Furthermore, she thinks extremely highly of herself and enjoys showing off her Sunday clothes whenever the opportunity arises. She intimidates men and women alike due to the power she possesses. Because of her obnoxious attitude Chaucer makes her toothless, fat and large and no wonder she is very ugly. The Prioress, on the other hand, serves as a foil to the Wife of Bath. Chaucer describes her as "tender-hearted" who cannot bear the sight of pain or physical suffering. She will cry at the thought of a dog dying. It could represent that she has a frail soul with low tolerance for pain and suffering.

The Prioress's superiority over the Wife of Bath is shown again in the presence of education. The Wife of Bath has travelled a great deal and seems knowledgeable about things of the world. She brings up many a valid point throughout the prologue but Chaucer voids her opinion because of her social class and looks when in truth she is actually wise. The Wife of Bath has understanding for the world and knows very well what's going on. However, during the Middle Ages, only scholarly or academic knowledge is recognized. What the Wife of Bath understands and pursues may not be commendable. On the contrary, the Prioress is considered "scholastic" and high class due to her good manners. Her ability to speak the noble language of French puts her character in a higher class as well. Thus, once again the Prioress is considered intelligent. Basically, the Wife of Bath is kind of a foil to the women during the Middle Ages. Her actions and thinking not only differ from the Prioress but almost from everyone else!

The Wife of Bath is radical especially when it comes to relationship with men. She is characterized as knowing much about love, which is illustrated by her physical defect-being gap-toothed symbolizing "sexual accomplishment." ................TO GET COMPLETE STUDY MATERIAL JOIN NSOU ENGLISH COACHING

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