The Wife of Bath's Tale Questions Flashcards
Describe the time period in which the Wife sets her table.
During the time of King Arthur
What punishment does the queen demand of the knight?
She demands the knight find the answer to the question, “What do women most desire?”
Where did the knight discover the old woman who would answer his question?
At the edge of the woods
According to the knight, what do women most want?
Equality between husbands and lovers and they want to master them.
In addition to becoming the knight’s wife, what more does the old women demand?
She wants to become his “very love.”
For what reasons does the knight find the old women objectionable?
1.She’s old
2.She’s plain
3.She’s poor
4.She’s low-bred
Identify two benefits that the old woman says can come with poverty.
- Great spirituality
- Self-knowledge
3.Nothing is worth stealing
What punishment does the king initially issue to the knight?
death
What character flaw is the tale-within-a-tale of Midas’s wife meant to illustrate?
Women are incapable of keeping secrets
What bargain does the knight make with the old woman? Why does the Queen force the knight to keep his part of bargain?
The knight agrees to do what the old woman wants after she tells him the secret of what women desire most. The queen believes the knight should marry the woman to keep his honor.
How does the old woman define true gentility?
It is not inherited or based on one’s possessions. It is a gift from god and a moral goodness.
What final choice does the old woman offer the knight? In what way does his response show that he has finally learned his lesson about the nature of women?
The old woman offers the knight the choice between an old, ugly, loyal wife and a young, beautiful, unfaithful wife. By letting his wife make decisions.
Implored
Begged Earnestly
Motes
Dust Particles
Cossetted
Pampered
