ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -In “The Wife Of Bath’s Tale", women most desire sovereignty over men in relationships. In other words, the power to have dominance over men is the one thing women most desire.

Detailed explanation-2: -The knight and the old woman travel together to the court, where, in front of a large audience, the knight tells the queen the answer with which the old woman supplied him: what women most desire is to be in charge of their husbands and lovers.

Detailed explanation-3: -Chaucer’s main character in the Prologue is the Wife of Bath. She embodies the beliefs that women are promiscuous, blabbermouthed, manipulative, etc., yet Chaucer writing her telling her life stories indicates that Chaucer believes she has value to be listened to.

Detailed explanation-4: -In The Canterbury Tales, women’s greatest desire is to dominate the men with whom have a romantic relationship. In medieval times, a woman’s greatest desire would be to dominate her husband.

Detailed explanation-5: -The Wife of Bath’s attitude toward controlling or miserly husbands is negative and hostile. She asks that Jesus cut short the lives of controlling husbands (lines 437-438) and that God cause miserly husbands to die of pestilence (lines 439-440).