The Canterbury Tales · Chapter
The Wife of Bath’s Tale explained
The Wife of Bath tells a tale about a knight who must discover what women most desire to avoid execution.
What happens
The Wife of Bath tells a tale about a knight who must discover what women most desire to avoid execution. After learning that women desire sovereignty over their husbands, he marries an old, wise woman who transforms into a beautiful and faithful wife once he grants her mastery.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This passage marks the story's dramatic climax because it shifts the focus from the external, ritualistic acts…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Gender and Power
The tale centers on female sovereignty and the power dynamics between men and women in marriage.
- Marriage and Sovereignty
Explores the idea that a wife's mastery over her husband leads to marital harmony.
Characters to notice
- The Wife of Bath
Narrator of the tale, known for her views on marriage and female sovereignty.
- The Knight
Protagonist who must find what women most desire to save his life.
Key passages
“What is the thing that women most desire?”
What do women want most of all?
Central question of the tale posed to the knight.
“Wommen desiren to have sovereynetee / As wel over hir housbond as hir love.”
Women want to have sovereignty over their husbands as well as their love.
The answer the knight learns from the old woman.
