Desire of the Fourteenth Century Women - 876 Words

Desire of the Fourteenth Century Women Is not what we desire, the most hard to get? It has always been this way. Unfortunately, women’s rights and abilities have been underestimated over the centuries. In the fourteenth century, the status and condition of a European woman depended on her husband’s position. Women had to endure arranged marriages, abuse and male dominance. During that time, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales and taught us about one extraordinary woman whose name is Dame Alisoun. Alisoun is called The Wife of Bath, and she defines what women desired most in fourteenth-century England. She believes that women wish for power over their husbands, and I personally agree with her opinion.†¦show more content†¦As help me God, whan that I saw him go. After the beere, me thoughte he hadde a paire of legges and of feet so clene and faire. That al myn herte I yaf unto his hold† (line 601). Alisoun learns quicky about men’s weak sides and chooses her tactics depending on the situation. In her Prologue, the Wife of Bath points out that there are no women writers and that only men write. Everything described in Janekin’s book is written from the men’s point of view, and here Alisoun uses a painting as an analogy: â€Å"Who painted the leon, tel me who? By God, if wommen hadden writen stories, As clerkes han wihin hir oratories, They wolde han writen of men more wikkednesse, Than al the merk of Adam may redresse (line 695). If women got a chance to write, they would write good things about themselves. The Wife of Bath explains that actually women are unable to present theirs ideas because in the fourteenth century, women were not necessarily literate. Alisoun probably cannot read herself. Only men can write about women, and Alisoun does not agree with what they say. The Wife of Bath breaks the rule and norms for the fourteenth-century woman. She mentions God often, and she explains that true nobility comes from him: â€Å"For gentilesse cometh fro God allone† (line 1168). Here she mentions that class or social status does not matter, and that true nobility comes from God. Even though Alisoun has anShow MoreRelatedWomen And Male Authority Figures1507 Words   |  7 Pages In the fourteenth century, women were merely seen as subject to male authority figures. A wife was not seen as a competent adult because they were seen as so dependent on their husband (Bennett 104-105). After a marriage anything she owned became possessed by her husband (Bennett 104-105). Women who manipulated their husband and gained control of his assets defied the norm of women’s position in the fourteenth century. 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