Transformation in Chaucer’s the ‘Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale’

Abstract

In Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales (c. 1387), the Wife of Bath appears “as a woman of very strong opinions who believes firmly in marriage” and as well “in the need to manage husbands strictly” (Thornley & Gwyneth 1993, p.16), and hence her story is about an Arthurian knight who rapes a maiden and has to face the consequences of his deed. 

The pilgrims of Chaucer’s masterpiece undergo transformations, which are chronicled in this literary text. These transformations occur in a variety of forms and take different shapes. The Wife of Bath is one of these travellers.  In the following discussion, I'll look at how the ‘Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale’ handles metamorphosis. By reading this article, readers will realize that transformation is not limited to the one of the hag that occurs at the end of the tale.