The Canterbury Tales Project (see also Geoffrey Chaucer)
Back to the Physician/The Wife of Bath/The Parson
445: A good Wif was ther of biside Bathe,
446: But she was somdeel deef, and that was scathe.
447: Of clooth-makyng she hadde swich an haunt,
448: She passed hem of Ypres and of Gaunt.
449: In al the parisshe wif was ther noon
450: That to the offrynge bifore hire sholde goon;
451: And if ther dide, certeyn so wrooth was she,
452: That she was out of alle charitee.
453: Hir coverchiefs ful fyne weren of ground;
454: I dorste swere they weyeden ten pund
455: That on a Sonday weren upon hir heed.
456: Hir hosen weren of fyn scarlet reed,
457: Ful streite yteyd, and shoes ful moyste and newe.
458: Boold was hir face, and fair, and reed of hewe.
459: She was a worthy womman al hir lyve:
460: Housbondes at chirche dore she hadde fyve,
461: Withouten oother compaignye in youthe,--
462: But therof nedeth nat to speke as nowthe.
463: And thries hadde she been at Jerusalem;
464: She hadde passed many a straunge strem;
465: At Rome she hadde been, and at Boloigne,
466: In Galice at Seint-Jame, and at Coloigne.
467: She koude muchel of wondrynge by the weye.
468: Gat-tothed was she, soothly for to seye.
469: Upon an amblere esily she sat,
470: Ywympled wel, and on hir heed an hat
471: As brood as is a bokeler or a targe;
472: A foot-mantel aboute hir hipes large,
473: And on hir feet a paire of spores sharpe.
474: In felaweshipe wel koude she laughe and carpe.
475: Of remedies of love she knew per chaunce,
476: For she koude of that art the olde daunce.
The Wife of Bath is one of the best known of Chaucer's character, distinctive in her scarlet stockings and enormous hat. Larger than life in every possible way, she reminds me (to use a silly analogy) of Madame Maxime, the half-giantess from Harry Potter Book 4. Everything about her is large or heavy, from her headgear via her 'hipes large' to her tightly gartered legs.
She is best known for her wantonness. Her five husbands, as well as her other affairs in youth and dalliances on her pilgimages have taught her much of 'the old dance'. Her gappy teeth would have been considered a sign of licentiousness and sexual impropriety, as would her scarlet stockings. The 'moist' leather of her shoes is similarly suggestive. She tells bawdy jokes and mixes love potions, and is an exciting character to have along as part of a travelling group, if not one who mixes well with the straight-laced Knight and Parson, and the woman-shy Friar. She has similarities to the Knight, however, with her list of places she has made pilgrimages to evoking memories of the his list of battles at which he has fought. She even outdoes him, being the only pilgrim ever to have made it to Jerusalem.
However, she is also bossy and domineering, demanding a place at the forefront of the procession to the church on feast days, and demanding to place her sacrifices first. She similarly rides at the front of the group of pilgrims, with the Miller. In this she echoes the ambition of the Guildsmen's wives, who aspire to the status that can be accorded them by their husbands. With no husband to help her up, the Wife of Bath must do so by her own hand and her determination. She is deaf, which, as we later learn, is due to one of her previous husbands having hit her (she then hit him back). She goes on to say that this was the only husband she ever really loved!
Modern English translation from www.fordham.edu:
There was a housewife come from Bath, or near,
Who- sad to say- was deaf in either ear.
At making cloth she had so great a bent
She bettered those of Ypres and even of Ghent.
In all the parish there was no goodwife
Should offering make before her, on my life;
And if one did, indeed, so wroth was she
It put her out of all her charity.
Her kerchiefs were of finest weave and ground;
I dare swear that they weighed a full ten pound
Which, of a Sunday, she wore on her head.
Her hose were of the choicest scarlet red,
Close gartered, and her shoes were soft and new.
Bold was her face, and fair, and red of hue.
She'd been respectable throughout her life,
With five churched husbands bringing joy and strife,
Not counting other company in youth;
But thereof there's no need to speak, in truth.
Three times she'd journeyed to Jerusalem;
And many a foreign stream she'd had to stem;
At Rome she'd been, and she'd been in Boulogne,
In Spain at Santiago, and at Cologne.
She could tell much of wandering by the way:
Gap-toothed was she, it is no lie to say.
Upon an ambler easily she sat,
Well wimpled, aye, and over all a hat
As broad as is a buckler or a targe;
A rug was tucked around her buttocks large,
And on her feet a pair of sharpened spurs.
In company well could she laugh her slurs.
The remedies of love she knew, perchance,
For of that art she'd learned the old, old dance.