Essays on Alyson

In this paper I will look at the character of Alyson, the Wife of Bath from the Canterbury Tales. She is a very wealthy, well-traveled woman as she has traveled around Europe and she has traveled on the pilgrimage to Jerusalem a total of three times Alyson is a very talkative, brash and sexual woman, who is a seamstress by vocation. Throughout her prologue she brags about the number of affairs and marriages that she has had. She has been married a total of five times and her current husband is half of her age. Besides her affinity for ...

The Wife of Bath is undoubtedly one of the most interesting characters in the entire collection of Canterbury Tales. She is interesting not only to the readers, but also to the writer himself, Geoffrey Chaucer. The Wife of Bath is the only character to have a prologue longer than their tale. The wife of bath begins by saying that what she is about to say is all meant for entertainment and that no one should take offence. Throughout her tale, she consistently and repeatedly reveals that she is a sly and crafty liar. The reader may question the authenticity of her ...

The question of whether the narrator, in Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath is reliable or not, can be called due to the narrator and the Wife herself, being one and the same voice. The Wife of Bath and the prologue are amongst Chaucer’s most famous tales: the prologue tells the tale of ‘Alyson’ (or ‘Alys’) who claims to be an expert on marriage, having been married five times: “For, masters since I was twelve years of age … Oh husbands at church door have I had five.” (Chaucer) The ‘bragging’ tone of the narrator instantly calls into question ...