Being a Woman in the Middle Ages In 'Wife of Bath' and “Guinevere”

Being a woman in the Middle Ages was hard. Women had to rely on a man to support them and make their life easier. Men did not seem to live a long time. The saying “you only have one true soulmate in your lifetime,” was not true, because when one husband died they went looking for another one.

“Guinevere” she was happily married to King Arthur, when she saw a knight named Sir Lancelot. They have love affairs and end the affair only to begin it again.

“Sir Lancelot forgets his promise and begins to sleep with Guinevere again” after making his promise to not sleep with the queen, he does again. He got to the point that he did not care anymore. Then that makes a bigger problem for the kingdom, Queen Guinevere is not being loyal and committed like she promised, when she promise to love King Arthur.

In the story, it said Sir Lancelot, “But ever his thought were privily on the queen, and so they loved together more hotter than they did to-forehand.” Guinevere thought that she could be with Sir Lancelot without anyone knowing. Sir Lancelot does not want King Arthur to find out about the affair that is going on, between Queen Guinevere and himself. Sir Agravaine opened his mouth and spilt the beans about Guinevere and Sir Lancelot. Sir Lancelot keeps away from Queen Guinevere as best that he can. Sir Lancelot was trying be a gentleman.

Guinevere is not happy that Lancelot is staying away from her. At court Guinevere allowed Sir Lancelot to speak to her and then she orders Lancelot to stay away from the court, “I well understand that thou art a false recreant knight and a common lecher and lovest and holdest other ladies, and by me thou hast disdain and scorn. For wit thou well, she said, now I understand thy falsehood, and therefore shall I never love thee no more.” (Chapter II)

Queen Guinevere is not done with Sir Lancelot yet. When Guinevere poisons with an apple, “a good knight name Patrise, cousin unto Sir Mador de la Porte” instead of Sir Gawaine. (Chapter 3) Guienevere is tried for treason because of the poisoned apple. Sir Lancelot comes to Guinevere’s rescue by fighting Sir Mador.

“The Wife of Bath” goes through a lot in here story. She loses all of her “soulmates.” She married multiple time in her life to keep herself alive. Husband after husband, thinking each time that she had found her one true love. Her fourth husband has passed, in the story it quoted “at the fourth husband’s funeral, she could hardly keep her eyes off a young clerk named Jankyn, whom she already admired.” The Wife of Bath is a woman who likes men. The Wife of Bath.was a woman who would find a man to marry at one husband’s funeral. She was able to get her husbands to do what she wanted them to do. When a husband would not do what she wanted, she would nag and bully them. She always to him what to do, she had control over him. He basically did not have a choice. After they abused each other, they finally know how to love each other. Even though she was way older than hm.

In both stories “The Wife of Bath” and “Guinevere”, they are both similar and different in many ways. In both them they are happily married, but both of them fall in love with another man. “The Wife of Bath” and “Guinevere” they can get away with things easily. These two women went through the middle ages, and how they handled things in their life, how they are able to make it, through similar and different things. “The wife of bath” and “Queen Guinevere” they were both was controlling to their men. They always had it their way, did things in a certain way. They both knew how to get what they wanted or needed. They both whores, they didn’t care what anyone thought.`