A Satire or the Harsh Truth of Marriage According to Chaucer

            Marriage life can be portrayed in many polar opposite ways, especially depending on the source given. From television shows to novels, from poems to movies, and from even watching your own parents compared to your friend’s parents, marriage is a complicated and unique relationship. Within a marriage in nearly every case there is a power struggle between the two partners. Chaucer highlights this ongoing issue and the basics of marriage in his “Wife of Bath” tale. He specifically highlights the role of women in a relationship and what they are looking for, with an emphasis of how they try and get it from their partners. Looking at today’s marriage and their divorce rates and the reasons behind the never-ending power struggle compared to “Wife of Bath”, Chaucer has given women and men distinct generalizations. If Chaucer were living today, he would look at the divorce percentage and not be surprised at the high rate because he did not believe marriage could be successful. Chaucer’s satire on marriage and women provides an old-fashioned and harsh view of women and men, which many people would consider accurate today.

      Chaucer portrays women in a very cruel tone, one that many women might find offensive today. He portrays women as manipulative, with the idea that they will stop at nothing to be right. As he writes, “A knowing wife if she is worth her salt Can always prove her husband is at fault” (264). He is trying to prove women’s intense competitiveness when it comes to having the upper hand over their husbands. Chaucer’s words are assessed and proven as one study says, “Wives were more demanding—asking for changes in the relationship or in their partner—and were more likely to get their way than the husbands. This held regardless of who had chosen the issue” (Study: Women Are in Charge at Home). Are all women manipulative and willing to cease at no end to get their way? Not all, no. However Chaucer’s idea of women is still depicted as a standard in many relationships, where women make the decisions and have sole power.

            Chaucer also gives two interesting viewpoints on the men’s role in a relationship. He shows them as weak and spineless puppets whose goals in life are solely to please and listen to their wives. On the contrary he gives them major credit for making the big compromise when getting married, “You have two choices; which one will you try? To have me old and ugly till I die, But still a loyal, true, and humble wife That never displease you all her life, Or would you rather I were young and pretty And chance your arm what happens in a city” (291). Men give up either faith or beauty when choosing a spouse, and then women are to know, follow and live up to this title. But after that decision is made, men are put into their place by their wives and are forever under their control. Modern day studies on power struggles in relationships confirm the idea that men are not in control of their life at home. “’It wasn't just that the women were bringing up issues that weren't being responded to, but that the men were actually going along with what they said,’ Vogel explained. ‘[Women] were communicating more powerful messages, and men were responding to those messages by agreeing or giving in’” (Study: Women Are in Charge at Home). Men have been and still are notorious for succumbing to their wives, something that Chaucer highlights in his tales as the aggression of women takes over the relationship.

            One final point Chaucer gives much attention to is the success rates of marriages, and the lack there of. Today the divorce rate is 45 percent, and has been increasing over time according to a study from this past summer (Study: Divorce Rate In Older Adults Doubles). However it is as if Chaucer predicted this, for in “Wife of Bath” he notes an interesting point of marriage and how each person acts once they have “sealed the deal”. He writes, “’We women hide our faults but let them show Once we are safely married, so you say’” (266). In this quote, he is trying to show that once a couple becomes officially bound, a new side of them comes forth that the other did not know existed, causing couples to become unhappy because this was not the person they first fell in love with, resulting in divorce. Especially in “Wife of Bath”, Chaucer portrayed the woman who had been married five times to not even believe in love, but rather took marriage on as a job offer and death or divorce ended the business deal and she quickly moved on. Chaucer believes that marriage is not meant to last, because true love does not exist.

Chaucer is a cynic when it comes to love, shown through the unhealthy relationships he portrays throughout his tales, particularly “Wife of Bath”. Between the intense power struggles, the lack of confidence in men and the overarching power of women, it is all very complicated and leaves the relationship loveless. His views have not gone unnoticed, for his beliefs are continuously studied and proven today, shown through the high divorce percentage. His satire, though extremely harsh and blunt, is an honest portrayal of the problems of marriages and relationships in society throughout history.