The Wife of Bath

The Tale of the Wife of Bath’s prologue is almost the main story. She is “warming up” the crowd for her actual tale when she tells them about her having multiple marriages. In the time which she lived having more than one marriage was unheard of; she seemed to prove that what she was doing was just and okay in the eyes of the Lord.
“Men can interpret and gloss the text up and down, but I surely without doubt that God expressly told us to increase and multiply; that pleasant text I can easily understand. I also know very well that He said my husband should leave his father and mother and live with me. But He made no mention of number, of bigamy, or of octogamy.” (Chaucer, 153)
Not only did she justify that she may have more than one husband in her life, but that he must leave his family and join hers. She uses examples from the Bible as well to rationalize her point: “I know very well that Abraham was a holy man, and Jacob also; and each of them had more than two wiv...