Wife_of_Bath

The point of view used in the tale "The Wife of Bath" helps the reader understand the theme more than usual stories. In "The Wife of Bath" Dame Allison, the wife of bath, first tells of her past of her five past husbands. After she tells of her experience she starts her true tale. The tale starts about a knight who rapes a young maiden, this punishable by death. Because of the queens convincing the king of the court left the decision to the queen. The queen said the knight had a year and a day to answer the question of what women truly desire, if not answered it would be death. He asked many women for their answer when one day he came across an old lady by a river. She made him pledge to her something that he could give her for the answer. They went back to the court the answer was that women want control over the men. He got his life but had to marry the old lady as pledged. He did not want to come near her and she asked why. Then she told him she could young or stay old. He said it was up to her to decide, she did indeed turn young. In the end she got the power she wanted over him. The point of view of this tale happens to be both limited 3rd person while having hints of 1st person. Many times in her tale Dame Allison says her opinion and includes herself when talking about women. From lines 938-946 she does this starting with the first line, "A man shal winne us best with bisinesse" (line 938). She cannot help but voicing her own opinion because she feels very strongly about how men should treat women. For the most part the tale is 3rd person limited the reader can see this in just the main story of the knight and older woman. This is better than just 1st person because the reader knows what both characters are doing. Unlike the old woman the reader knows why the knight is asking what do women most desire. The reader knew it was because of the misfortune with the young maiden (line 893-894). The theme is pretty obvious in the wife's tale. She wants to make her point pretty clear for women to use and men to follow. It is as if she points out all flaws, "that made hem gentilmen ycalled be | And bad us folwen hem in swich degree" (lines 1129-1130). In the tale she states women should have cvontrol over men. Even as the tale is in its closing she still states "And eek I praye Jesu shorte hir lives | That nought wol be governed by hir wives" (lines 1267-1268). Her opinion was the control over men saying that they also need to treat women right. That women have a right to be in control everything would turn out better in the end if they were. The kind of point of view(s) that was used in this tale really helps Dame Allison's theme be showed. In the tale the answer to the question is what she is trying to prove "Wommen desire to have soverenietee| As wel over hir housbende as hir love" (lines 1044-1045). With the limited 3rd person view the reader is showed how the theme is the story itself. How the knight over powered the young maiden in the end he lost his power to his new wife. "For as you liketh it suffiseth me" (line 1241).