The Wife Of Bath’s prologue and tale

Prologue

The Wife is a pilgrim who has visited many cities and is now making another trip to Canterbury, who is telling her autobiography through her experiences.

She says that she married 5 different men, and that the first 3 were the most beautiful, as they were rich. The wife is exactly the type of woman whom the medieval church sees as evil and perfidious.

Tale 

At the time of King Arthur’s reign, a young knight lived in his court, characterized by his lust and pride, who had fallen madly in love with a young court maiden.

One day, however, overcome by his lust and his sense of power, he raped the young girl, which shocked everyone inside Arthur’s court. All the inhabitants of the court should have been killed, but Queen Guinevre, King Arthur’s wife, gave the young man another chance.

If within a year the young man had found what most women in the world wanted, he would have survived, but if he hadn’t found an answer or given the wrong one, he would have died.

So he began to travel throughout the kingdom and to ask any woman he met, but they all replied in a different way: those who said they wanted to rest, who pride, who money, and therefore he was increasingly desperate.

But one day traveling through the forest he saw 24 women who were dancing and came over to ask them for an answer. Approaching, however, the women disappeared and an old and ugly woman appeared.

The knight told the woman that if he helped him, he would give her whatever he wanted, and the woman decided to help him. Arriving at the court together, the woman revealed to the young man what women most want, that is, that women want to be responsible for their husbands and lovers, and unexpectedly the other women confirmed it, so the knight was spared.

But the knight had promised anything to the woman, so she wanted to marry him, even if the young man was not happy at all. While they were in bed together, the woman noticed him and asked him why he was not satisfied, and he replied that he could not bear such an ugly wife.

At that point his wife asked him if he preferred an ugly but faithful wife, or a young and beautiful woman, but unfaithful and not sincere. The knight replied that he preferred a faithful woman, although not beautiful. So his wife asked him for a kiss, but once given the woman was no longer old and ugly, but she was a young and beautiful girl, and they lived a long and happy marriage.