The Canterbury Tales: The Wife of Bath's Prologue Wealth Quotes Page 3
Citations follow this format: (Line). We used the line numbering found on Librarius's online edition.
| Quote #7 Thou seist to me, it is a greet meschief |
A man might consider it costly to marry a poor woman because she would not be able to bring a large dowry to the wedding. On the other hand, men might complain of the pride and bad temper of a rich woman. This is just one instance of the way antifeminist portrayals of women made it so that no matter their situation, women simply couldn't win.
| Quote #8 Thou seist, that oxen, asses, hors, and houndes, |
This bit of antifeminist wisdom explicitly connects wives to property by implying that, like one's other purchasing decisions, the decision to marry a woman ought to occur only after she has been tested. A man might make an argument that marrying a woman was "purchasing" her because of the cost of her upkeep.
| Quote #9 But tel me this, why hydestow, with sorwe |
The marital equity the Wife implies in the idea that she and her husband own their property together is a pretence. The Wife's actual goal is to have total control (alone) over all the property.
