Event Title
Perception in Geoffrey Chaucer's Wife of Bath
Presentation Type
Oral and/or Visual Presentation
Presenter Major(s)
Communications - Advertising and Public Relations
Mentor Information
Diane Wright
Department
Modern Languages and Literatures
Location
Kirkhof Center 2201
Start Date
10-4-2013 12:00 AM
End Date
10-4-2013 12:00 AM
Keywords
Gender, Historical Perspectives, Philosophy/ Literature
Abstract
In the _Canterbury Tales_, Geoffrey Chaucer creates the controversial but complex figure of the Wife of Bath. The Wife of Bath can only correctly be analyzed if the reader looks at how she is perceived, how she perceives others and her own moral code. Through Alison's wardrobe, relationships, and ideas about authority, experience and love, the reader may better understand Alison and the contradictions between her Prologue and Tale. Alison's Prologue tells the story of her past marital relationships and her Tale recounts the story of one relationship that parallels the fable of the lion painting mentioned in her prologue. An in-depth analysis of the Wife of Bath's perception of herself and others as well as that of the reader, reveals a story of a woman who is developing a pre-feminist outlook that realizes the need for balance in relationships.
Perception in Geoffrey Chaucer's Wife of Bath
Kirkhof Center 2201
In the _Canterbury Tales_, Geoffrey Chaucer creates the controversial but complex figure of the Wife of Bath. The Wife of Bath can only correctly be analyzed if the reader looks at how she is perceived, how she perceives others and her own moral code. Through Alison's wardrobe, relationships, and ideas about authority, experience and love, the reader may better understand Alison and the contradictions between her Prologue and Tale. Alison's Prologue tells the story of her past marital relationships and her Tale recounts the story of one relationship that parallels the fable of the lion painting mentioned in her prologue. An in-depth analysis of the Wife of Bath's perception of herself and others as well as that of the reader, reveals a story of a woman who is developing a pre-feminist outlook that realizes the need for balance in relationships.