Analysis of the Role of Marriage in Wife of Bath's Tale

Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales demonstrates a plethora of attitudes toward and perceptions of marriage, with some of these ideas being extremely conservative while others are wildly liberal, all concluding that the conflict between men and women is of divergent wills and natures. While several of these tales are rather comical, they do indeed give us a representation of the attitudes toward marriage at that time in history. The Nun's Priest's, Wife of Bath's, and …

…some may question her delivery, her bold face and domineering spirit make her portrait immensely vivid and ultimately these characteristics endow her with the tools to effectively deliver her point. It is through these things that I, as a reader, am convinced that the Wife of Bath's tale effectively and correctly appoints the roles in marriage with subtle submission and control being given to the wife and with patience and submission being the husband's virtue.