Develop a 1-2 paragraph introduction with a strong claim that proposes how the Wife of Bath appeals to her audience in order to persuade them that...

After roaming for a year and a day, the young knight returns to King Arthur's court to either receive a reprieve or be condemned. His life depends on whether he has discovered what women most desire. His answer is simple: women desire sovereignty over their husbands. That answer wins him his life.

The Wife of Bath begins her tale with this prologue—the longest in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales—because it makes an important point about what...

After roaming for a year and a day, the young knight returns to King Arthur's court to either receive a reprieve or be condemned. His life depends on whether he has discovered what women most desire. His answer is simple: women desire sovereignty over their husbands. That answer wins him his life.

The Wife of Bath begins her tale with this prologue—the longest in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales—because it makes an important point about what she believes women deserve. She argues that they deserve not just sovereignty but rather the choice about whether or not they will be sovereign over their husbands. The Wife goes on to show that allowing women to make this choice can lead to equality and matrimonial harmony—as it does for both the unnamed knight in the prologue and for the Wife of Bath's husbands.

The Wife of Bath is somewhat successful in her endeavor to convince her audience that women deserve the right to sovereignty. Ultimately, however, she goes on to confirm certain stereotypes about women, including the use of her body to get financial independence, her characterization of male-coded behavior, and showing that women must be beautiful and sexually charged to please men in her tale. This prevents her from being entirely successful in her argument for female sovereignty.