According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, feminism is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. In past years, society has viewed females as inferior to males, which lets men do all of the “hard work”. In The Wife of Bath’s Tale, Geoffrey Chaucer presents Alice as a bold and audacious character, and therefore feels differently about the norm of letting only men have rights. She overcomes the social mentality that men have a higher status than women with her personal willpower. When labeling herself with this authority, Alice gains control over her many husbands and wins what a man normally inherits at birth. Regardless of the lack of power among women in this time period, Alice takes control in her relationships by her use of seduction, her false accusations about her husbands, and by making them feel guilty so they respect her wishes. Alice’s primary technique of getting her husbands to comply with her desires occurs through seduction. The wife comprehends every aspect of relationships and uses this as an advantage over her spouse. Chaucer depicts this woman as a love-obsessed mastermind of relationships. He writes, “Of remedies of love she knew parchaunce, / For she coude of that art the olde daunce.” (Chaucer, 205.) In this piece of evidence, the author describes Alice’s skill at manipulating relationships. He claims that she knows “all the tricks of [this]trade” (Chaucer, 205). Because of her many previous relationships, Alice knows precisely how to act in order to steal the power from her spouse. In this case, she trades sex for power. In the translation of the tale, the wife declares that her “husband shall have it both evening and morning, whenever it pleases him to come forth and pay his debt. I will not stop. I will have a husband who will be both my debtor and servant, and have his tribulation upon his flesh, while I am his wife.” (NeCastro, 162.) This quote explains her extreme will to do anything for her husband’s happiness. Alice gains this power by sexually pleasing her men, which leads them to give up their property and money. Alice also insists, “[She] will use the flowers of [her] life in the acts and fruits of marriage.” (NeCastro, 114.) The author uses the word “flowers” by referring to the best and youngest years of her life, which appeal the most to men. She lusts after taking advantage of these blooming years to win her husbands’ approval and therefore gain power over him. As a result of these witch-like spells, Alice brings out a giving side of her husbands which enables her to steal away their power. Alice also obtains control of her relationships by falsely accusing her husbands of participating in inappropriate actions.
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She spreads the word around that her husbands betray her with improper activities. She accuses them of interacting with other women, becoming drunkards, and other acts against God’s will. Alice states, “‘I would firmly swear to my old husbands, that they said this in their drunkenness; and all was false, except I got Jankin and my niece to be my witnesses. O Lord! The pain and woe I did them, though they were innocent, by God’s sweet suffering!” (NeCastro, 394.) Although untrue, Alice convinces everyone she knows that her husbands are responsible for these performances. This embarrasses her husbands which leads to their defeat in the marriage. The men take the fault for these fabricated actions and thus give in to accommodate to their wife. Alice goes so far as to make these measures seem impossible, yet society still believes them because of her forceful nature. She confirms to, “accuse [her] old husband of visiting prostitutes, even when they were so sick that they could scarcely stand.” (NeCastro, 394.) Alice highlights to the reader how incapable of being true her assertions seem, however this does not stop her, instead it leads to her victory in the relationships. Whether the stories told remain correct or not, Alice tricks her husbands into accepting her favors because of the enriched detail provided in the tales. The final tactic that Alice applies to secure power in her relationships is through guilt. Alice incorporates
She spreads the word around that her husbands betray her with improper activities. She accuses them of interacting with other women, becoming drunkards, and other acts against God’s will. Alice states, “‘I would firmly swear to my old husbands, that they said this in their drunkenness; and all was false, except I got Jankin and my niece to be my witnesses. O Lord! The pain and woe I did them, though they were innocent, by God’s sweet suffering!” (NeCastro, 394.) Although untrue, Alice convinces everyone she knows that her husbands are responsible for these performances. This embarrasses her husbands which leads to their defeat in the marriage. The men take the fault for these fabricated actions and thus give in to accommodate to their wife. Alice goes so far as to make these measures seem impossible, yet society still believes them because of her forceful nature. She confirms to, “accuse [her] old husband of visiting prostitutes, even when they were so sick that they could scarcely stand.” (NeCastro, 394.) Alice highlights to the reader how incapable of being true her assertions seem, however this does not stop her, instead it leads to her victory in the relationships. Whether the stories told remain correct or not, Alice tricks her husbands into accepting her favors because of the enriched detail provided in the tales. The final tactic that Alice applies to secure power in her relationships is through guilt. Alice incorporates