ANALYSIS OF CHARACTERIZATION

Right from the title the reader gets relevant information about the pilgrim described: her status in society is Wife and she comes from the city of Bath.

The narrator starts the characterization defining her a worthy woman, revealing that she occupies an high and respected position in society. Indeed she doesn’t live in the countryside, as a peasant, but she comes from beside Bath city. Her little deafness is the unique lack, and it might reveal that she is not so young anymore.

Well, in the first two lines the narrator provides the reader with information about her social status and her provenance and he gives a clue about her age.

Afterwards the narrator lingers on her excellent ability in making cloth – she betters expert  weavers – and on her relationship with the other dame. No one of them dares to surpass the Wife of Bath, because she would be able to became really wrath. Her behavior proves that she has an eccentric personality.  In addition, telling that not a dame dared stir in front of her, the narrator tells about her reputation: she is respected and dreaded.

Chaucer moves to the description of her clothes and her appearance.

Everything she wears is of the finest textile and color, is precious and expensive – her kerchiefs were of finely woven ground [..] they weighed a good ten pound [..] her hose were of the finest scarlet red [..] her shoes were soft and new –. Her clothes show that she lives in clover, that she pays attention on her appearance and that she is rich enough to afford to wear so elegantly.

Afterwards the narrator tells about her face: bold and handsome, and red in hue, communicating the first impression that you gets from her face. First, she is impudent, not in the least modest, revealing her presumptuous character and underlining her nobility. Secondly she appears handsome, and her beauty reinforces her personality.

Chaucer says again: A worthy woman all her life and he continues telling about her past husbands. She married five times at church but you have to consider also her partners in youth. Such information confirms her beauty but also reveals another feature of her eccentric character.      

In the same way that she had a lot of company, the Wife of Bath has visited a lot of towns, travelling around the world: she has gone three times to Jerusalem, probably on pilgrimage, but she also reached Rome, Bolougne, St James of Compostella and Cologne and she was skilled in wandering.

The Wife of Bath is an independent women, who is not limited in an enclosed space.

She is able to seduce a man as she is able to carry out a long travel on her own.

Chaucer ends the characterization giving further details about her appearance. She has gap-teeth, that, on the basis of physiognomic, are a sign of sensual character and love for travelling. She is sitting at ease on her horse. She wears a hat as wide as a shield, that, like everything she wears, captures the attention. She wears also a long mantel that covers her large hips, that the narrator refers to in order to emphasize her attraction.

Finally Chaucer describes her behavior in the company of pilgrims, saying that she likes laughing and chatting, and in particular she is an expert in love affairs, since she knows the oldest dances of love art.            

Well, Chaucer builds the characterization of the Wife of Bath trough the description of her appearance, in particular her clothes, through her past life and her behavior with the people around her.