Written in the Middle Ages, The Wife of Bath's Prologue begins by revealing that the wife's plethora of experiences with marriage qualify it to reveal the realities of marriage. At the age of twelve, her first three husbands were good because they were old, rich and submissive; her last two husbands were bad and quite the contrary, Wife, or Alison, comments on many contradictory things the Bible says about marriage and virginity. validates his decision to marry more than once. She ultimately concludes that anyone can interpret the Bible however they want and that it is right that some perfect people, like saints, remain virgins all their lives, but that most people like her are not perfect. .Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Wife's ideas about marriage coincide with ideas that were developing in 14th-century England as a result of social changes, leading to a development in the role of women. Chaucer imposes a sexist view on Alison when he normally describes the other characters, but he talks about the number of men she has been with and references her sex life. This alone reiterates the common plight of women during this era, who had to be a housewife pleasing her husband all her life. The wife's fifth husband reads a book about a woman whose "wickedness/has brought all mankind to sorrow and distress," rather than just people (Chaucer 277). When women are anything other than closeted, women are seen as evil. The distinctions between the sexes in The Prologue are clearly marked. Men appear to be economically powerful and educated on their own, while women seem to have to get what they want by manipulating men. The wife discovers the weaker side of the men she marries, who can be exploited because of their sexual desire and status. But the location of wealth changes the condition of its relationships; the widowed wife is powerful and independent until she transfers her property to her fifth husband. This social construct for women is still visible today, as we still feel the echoes of a society with double standards. There weren't many women authors at the time, but "if women had written stories." If Chaucer had written about Alison's life as a male character, he would have blended in with all the other characters. Because Alison's attributes towards her husbands portray women as always undermining their husbands, many see her as a feminist character. But this is mitigated by the fact that she conforms to these misogynistic stereotypes herself. The wife describes herself as sexually insatiable, but also as someone who only has sex for financial well-being, contradicting two female stereotypes. Despite the contradictions, these ideas about women were adopted by men to support a hierarchy in which men dominated women. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Social constructs are shared assumptions about reality created by our subconscious society for the purpose of understanding the world. Gender is constantly changing, involving attitudes and social norms that society deems more appropriate for one sex over another. This is seen through intergenerational changes within families, as changing norms influence social values ​​regarding gender...