The Professional Wife and Her Defense (for British Literature)

Alisoun, the Wife of Bath, has a lot of experience being married: her first marriage took place when she was only twelve and she’s been married at church five times (Chaucer “Wife of Bath’s Prologue” 4-6). She may have felt out of place amongst the myriad of clergyman she traveled with, many of whom had taken vows of chastity. There is no indication in the General Prologue that anyone looked down on her for it, but apparently the subject had come up before (perhaps on one of her other pilgrimages). Her marital history was obviously on her mind, and may have been frowned upon by her fellow pilgrims, because in the Wife’s Prologue she defended her choices at length.

In the beginning, Alisoun mentions her vast experience, but turns to Scripture in her defense. This would have been atypical because she was a woman, and she was expected to only speak from her own experience. It was men who spoke with authority from the Bible. However, most of the women on the pilgrimage were from the first estate, so they were probably well-versed in the Scriptures; since she had been on many pilgrimages (“General Prologue” 465-468) she was possibly also religious and has studied the Bible. Lastly, her defense is in response to what a man said to her while citing Scripture:

That sith that Crist ne wente nevere but ones
To wedding in the Cane of Galilee
That by the same ensample taughte he me
That I ne sholde wedded be but ones. (“Wife’s Prologue” 10-13)

From a logical standpoint, this seems ridiculous, because it is only an assumption that Christ only went to one wedding in His lifetime, and He wasn’t even the one getting married. Christ went to the wedding not to say that we should only get married once, but because he wanted to celebrate the marriage of a family friend. The reason it was recorded in the Scriptures is because the reception is where Jesus performed His first miracle.

In defiance, Alisoun claims that she doesn’t understand “why that the fifthe man / Was noon housbonde to the Samaritan?” (21-22); the text repeatedly insinuates that she has lived in a similar way, that not all of her husbands were united to her in a church. This doesn’t seem to be an issue to her as much as the claim that she should only be married once. She is not ashamed of having many husbands at all, in fact she: “Welcome the sixte whan that evere he shal!” (51). She points out that it is a double standard for the wisest man in the world (35-36), Abraham, and Jacob (61-62) to have had many wives.

She is not shy about her reasons for marrying, either. In the “General Prologue” the narrator reports: “She coude muchel of wandring by the waye. / Gat-toothed was she, smoothly for to saye” (469-470). She seems to have acquired a reputation after going on so many pilgrimages. She freely admits what her main reason for marrying is when she quotes the apostle Paul: “Bet is to be wedded than to brinne” (“Wife’s Prologue” 58). In fact, she had her fifth husband picked out before her fourth was even dead because she believes that it is good to be prepared:

For certainly, I say for no bobaunce
Yit was I nevere withouten purveyaunce
Of marriage n’of othere thinges eek:
I holde a mousse herte nought worth a leek
That hath but oon hole for to sterte to,
And if that faile thane is al ydo. (575-580)

She knows that the first directive that God gave was “to wexe and multiplye” (28). There is no indication that Alisoun had any children, however it is probably very likely. But Alison also believes that procreation isn’t the only reason to have sex:

oure bothe thinges smale ...
I saye this, that they maked been for bothe—
That is to sayn, for office and for ese
Of engendrure, ther we nat God displese. (128, 132-134)

She also makes a good point when she reminds her listeners that:

For hadde God commanded maidenhead,
Thanne hadde he dampned wedding with the deede;
And certes, if there wer no seed ysowe,
Virginitee, thane wherof sholde it growe? (75-78)

Not only did Alisoun enjoy sex, but she controlled her husbands, and they enjoyed it (225-226). Her perspective on marriage had changed over time. Her first three husbands were old (203) and “That I ne tolde no dainee of hir love” (214). Later she married a young man for love, and they didn’t exactly get along well at first, but he ultimately allowed her to rule over him as well (819-821). Ironically enough, at the end of her tale the wife becomes submissive when she promises: “For by my trouthe, I wol be to you bothe— / This is to sayn, ye, bothe fair and good” (“The Wife’s Tale” 1246-1249). The reader has no way of knowing if Alisoun ever becomes so submissive herself.

Most of Alisoun’s statements must have seemed distasteful to clergy of the time. Women didn’t openly discuss their sexuality, and certainly not while quoting Scripture. The Wife is very openly rebelling against the teachings of the church and it is interesting that Chaucer chose to make her the mouthpiece for this issue. Reading what he gave her to say makes her seem like a modern woman locked in the past, but maybe women really did think this way back then, they probably just didn’t get to be so vocal about it.