ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -The Wife of Bath presents the final answer to the queen’s riddle: Women want to rule over the men in their lives.

Detailed explanation-2: -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-3: -Summary of the ‘Wife of Bath’s Tale’ The old lady tells the knight that woman’s greatest desire is control over her husband, which is the correct answer to the queen’s question.

Detailed explanation-4: -In the Wife of Bath’s tale, the Knight has raped a young maiden. His punishment for doing so is death; he is to have his head cut off. However, the King agrees to hand him over to the Queen. The Queen tells the Knight that he must come up with the answer to this question: What do women most desire?

Detailed explanation-5: -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.