How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Line). We used the line numbering found on Librarius's online edition.
Quote #1
But certeinly, er he came fully there,
Vanysshed was this daunce, he nyste where.
No creature saugh he that bar lyf,
Save on the grene he saugh sittynge a wyf –
A fouler wight ther may no man devyse.
Agayn the knyght this olde wyf gan ryse.
(1001 – 1007)
This passage suggests that the wife the knight sees sitting on the green is "foul" in part because she's old. It does this with the way it calls her an "this olde wyf" immediately after calling her "foul," with the expectations that the audience will already know she's foul.
Quote #2
Agayn the knyght this olde wyf gan ryse,
And sede, 'Sire knyght, heer forth ne lith now ey.
Tel me what that ye seken, by your fey!
Paraventure it may the better be,
Thise olde folk kan muchel thyng' quod she.
(1006 – 1010)
This passage equates wisdom with age. The old wife the knight sees tells him that "thise olde folk kan muchel thyng." The reason for this knowledge might be the many years of lived experience, experience being a form of knowledge the Wife of Bath has privileged in her Prologue.
Quote #3
'Nay, thanne,' quod she, 'I shrewe us bothe two!
For though that I be foul, and oold, and poore,
I nolde for al the metal, ne for orre,
That under erthe is grave, or lith above,
But if thy wyf I were and eek thy love.'
(1068 – 1072)
It's interesting that the loathly lady recites all the reasons why the knight might not want to marry her with her "though that I be foul, and oold, and poore." It's almost as if she's trying to rub the knight's face in it.
Quote #4
But al for noght, the ende is this, that he
Constreyned was, he nedes moste hir wedde;
And taketh his olde wyf, and gooth to bedde.
(1076 – 1078)
Of all the attributes of the wife this passage could mention to emphasize how undesirable the loathly lady is to the knight, it chooses to focus on the fact that she is old. The knight must "taketh his olde wyf." The idea of taking an old woman to one's bed may be particularly odious because sex is supposed to be related to procreation in the medieval period. With a post-menopausal woman, then, sex might be pointless, even obscene.
Quote #5
Greet was the wo the knyght hadde in his thoght,
Whan he was with his wyf abedde ybroght;
He walweth and he turneth to and fro.
His olde wyf lay smylynge everemo.
(1089 – 1092)
Again, of all the attributes this passage could choose to focus on, this passage chooses to distinguish the loathly lady with the adjective 'old.' At this point, the narrator seems to be making fun of the knight, milking the age difference between him and his wife for all it's worth.
Quote #6
'Amended,' quod this knyght, 'allas! nay! nay!
It wol nat been amended nevere mo;
Thou art so loothly and so oold also.'
(1104 – 1106)
The truth of the knight's statement is particularly applicable to the issue of age here, for how is it possible to "amend" someone's age, when amendment usually involves addition?
Quote #7
Now sire, of elde ye repreve me,
And certes, sire, though noon auctoritee
Were in no book, ye gentils of honour
Seyn, that men sholde an oold wight doon favour,
And clepe hym fader for your gentillesse;
And auctours shal I fynde, as I gesse.
(1213 – 1218)
The loathly lady's reminder to the knight that men ought to honor the elderly is a double whammy because she has just established that gentle acts make one a gentleman. Were the knight to fail to honor the elderly, he would definitively establish himself as not a gentleman.
Quote #8
Now, ther ye seye that I am foul and old,
Than drede you noght to been a cokewold;
For filthe and eelde, al so moot I thee,
Been grete wardeyns upon chastitee.
(1219 – 1222)
The statement that age is a guardian of chastity is particularly ironic given the Wife of Bath's Prologue. There, the Wife stated her intention to continue having lots of sex despite her increasing years.