Reflect on the wife's ideas and attitudes concerning women. Analyze how one of the wife's ideas or attitudes is similar to or different from contemporary feminist ideas and attitudes.
Alex Lee
10/24/2014 03:42:28 pm
The Wife of Bath does not regard women's independence and "freedom to do as [women] please" as what women truly desire. However, this point of view is different from modern feminists'. Ever since the 1960s, feminists have been requesting for rights and freedom of women. This difference shows that sense of value of modern women and ancient women significantly changed over the time.
Joshua
10/24/2014 06:28:37 pm
I agree with Alex's ideas. I also think that the wife of Bath is very realistic and knows herself, while today's feminists are too idealistic. While the wife acknowledges that most women cannot keep secrets, modern feminists would otherwise, thus proving their so called "equality".
Joshua
10/24/2014 06:29:40 pm
By the way I hope no one was offended at my comment. It is just an opinion, and should not be taken for something I did not intend.
Clifford
10/25/2014 04:20:34 pm
I agree with Joshua. Nowadays feminist focuses on the idea of independent and that female can live without men, but this is very unrealistic because without men they won't be alive in the first place. In the medieval times, woman like the wife knows what they need is just to have more power over the man, because man still plays an important part in the wife's life, such has the people who gives her to money to wear all the expensive cloths she has.
Kim Steve
10/25/2014 11:39:12 pm
I agree also. The wife of Bath actually admits women have feelings that rests in a their mind, and know what she wants. Unlike her, contemporary feminist does not even want to take in obvious differences that set man and woman apart, and wants, what Joshua says, "equality".
Ken
10/25/2014 02:06:59 pm
I think medieval feminists and contemporary feminists are similar in that they all want more rights. There are still many cultures today where women have fewer rights than men, and these women are in a similar situation as medieval women. Though many values of feminism have changed, feminists today are still fighting for their rights.
Jeyson
10/25/2014 03:14:03 pm
I agree. Modern feminists always regard their freedom a right they deserve. However in this tale, the wife of bath actually dismisses this idea as not important. In fact, I think the life of a medieval woman must be miserable therefore woman wants power over her husband.
Kim Steve
10/25/2014 11:20:12 pm
I agree completely. It is interesting to observe how gender roles changes over time. As mentioned by Ken, both the wife and contemporary feminists always wants more than they already have. To me, the laws enforced today seems to fairly secure woman's right; however those feminist who argue over for more just seem use gender to their advantage.
Guillaume
10/25/2014 11:59:47 pm
I also agree with Joshua and Alex. Although there are indeed many scenarios that can prove that men and women have equal intellectual abilities, women have to admit that they are always different than men in terms of physical attributes. Furthermore, the feminists' call towards equality is also hindered by the previously established stereotypes of women, such as the "cult" of domesticity for women in colonial America. Although such norms are less common in the modern world, they may still exist in parts of the world where men still think of themselves as superior.
YuJin Yang
10/24/2014 10:40:26 pm
One of the wives states that women most desire "to be thought wise and void of sin" (188 line 120), meaning that she wants to be seen as a flawless and clever woman. This indicates that women were highly self-conscious because they paid a lot of attention to what other people think about them. However, contemporary feminist ideas focus more on fighting for equal political, cultural and social rights for women. Therefore, it is clear that contemporary feminist ideas differ from one of the wife's ideas.
Kim Steve
10/25/2014 11:26:34 pm
I agree. Although the scope of the idea from each time period is very different, women always has some kind of desire. As you mentioned in your response, contemporary feminists aim for social and political rights.
Phillip Cho
10/24/2014 11:09:22 pm
I agree, feminists today do not want to be thought of as either greater or lesser than men. Rather, they seek true equality. In the wife's story, most of the answers the knight receives while on his quest have a connotation implying that women are not truly equal to men. Thus, medieval feminism and contemporary feminism seem to have different values.
Jeyson
10/25/2014 03:12:08 pm
I dont think the wife of bath thinks like feminists in modern times. I think she believes in "ultimate" feminism which is power over men. Feminists today actually want to be thought as equal. But as we read more about the wife of bath, i think that the medieval feminism and modern feminism seem to have different characteristics and opinions.
Yu Jin Yang
10/25/2014 09:49:33 pm
I agree with Jeyson. Contemporary feminist ideas mainly focus on equality. They want to have equal rights as men and want to get rid of gender discrimination. In addition, many of them promote social change. However, women in the Wife of Bath's tale wants to be superior over men.
Steve Kim
10/25/2014 11:04:26 pm
The wife's ideas and attitudes toward woman completely contradicts the idea held by contemporary feminists. The wife thinks that woman has certain roles and traits different from those of man's; and that difference is despised by the feminists today.
Ian Jang
10/25/2014 11:07:27 pm
Women shown in the story The Wife of Bath shows that women tend to seek for control over their husbands. However, this contradicts to today's feminist ideas. Women today want freedom and rights equal to that of men. This indicates that as time passed, women gradually became independent from men and gained rights to have more power in the society.
Kim Steve
10/25/2014 11:50:43 pm
Great response! I also think that woman's desire changed over time. It seems like their wants change as the societal context changes.
Ariel
10/25/2014 11:32:27 pm
I think the Wife of Bath is criticizing those answers received by the knight, because those characteristics of women are too idealistic. She understands that it is impossible to reach that level, thus instead of showing a fake side, she reveals her true identity to everyone. Although she has gap-teeth and huge hip, she is not afraid to show. However, modern women tends to ask for too much. Too many people seek to become perfect, and this explains why some girls are willing to spend so much money on surgery or makeup. Not a lot of people are satisfied with their physical appearances.
Han Joo Kim
10/26/2014 12:40:08 am
One of the attitudes Wife of Bath had towards women was that women generally wanted power and rights. Certainly, this attitude has long been shared by many women. However, I do not think they are necessarily the same. As the old lady from Wife's tale said, women (during the medieval times) wanted power not equal to but over men. What they wanted was not simply having equal rights with men but having control over men. This contrasts with modern beliefs, which advocate equity.
Kori Kang
10/26/2014 01:32:31 am
I agree with Hanjoo. In the story, when the knight is supposed to be sentenced to death, the queen controls the king by pleading to give the knight a chance to save his life. During King Arthur's time, what women want the most is not just equality, but control over men. However, in today's society, women want equality, not control over the opposite gender.
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Discussion Board
_Assignment: Students are expected to participate in the
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other student’s response to the question.Although these are the minimum requirements for the homework grade,
students are encouraged to engage in further discussion with their classmates
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