Wife of Bath Greed Quotes

Yblessed be God, that I have wedded fyve - Wife of Bath

Yblessed be God, that I have wedded fyve;
Of whiche I have pyked out the beste,
Bothe of here nether purs and of here cheste.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. Thanking God that she wedded five husbands and picked out the best, the Wife of Bath reveals what she looked for in each of them. Sexual potency ("nether purs" – scrotum) and wealth ("here cheste" – strongbox) were the two requirements. A husband had to provide her with sexual satisfaction and financial security.

A wys womman wol bisye hire evere in oon
To gete hire love, ye, ther as she hath noon.
But sith I hadde hem hoolly in myn hond,
And sith they hadde me yeven al hir lond,
What sholde I taken keep hem for to plese,
But it were for my profit and myn ese?

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. A wise woman will be constantly busy to get herself loved when she is not, says the Wife of Bath. But since she had her first three husbands wholly in her hand and they had given her all their land, why should she go out of her way to please them? Unless it was for her profit and pleasure, of course! These comments speak to Alison’s greed.

But tel me this: why hydestow, with sorwe,
The keyes of thy cheste awey fro me?
It is my good as wel as thyn, pardee!

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is my own! Marital equality goes out the window if you’re married to the Wife of Bath. In this passage Alison demands the keys of the strongbox from her husband that she claims he is hiding, saying the money is her property as well as his. Her goal is total control over her husband and his wealth.

Now by that lord that called is Seint Jame,
Thou shalt nat bothe, thogh that thou were wood,
Be maister of my body and of my good;
That oon thou shalt forgo, maugree thyne yen.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. Using her sexuality as a weapon of power and as a commodity for sale, the Wife of Bath puts it to her husband that he can’t be master of both her body and possessions. One of them he must give up, she says. Greedy Alison is candid about using her body to manipulate her husband into giving her the gold and riches she desires.

Atte ende I hadde the bettre in ech degree,
By sleighte, or force, or by som maner thyng,
As by continueel murmur or grucchyng.
Namely abedde hadden they meschaunce:
Ther wolde I chide and do hem no plesaunce;
I wolde no lenger in the bed abyde,
If that I felte his arm over my syde,
Til he had maad his raunson unto me;
Thanne wolde I suffre hym do his nycetee.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. The Wife of Bath boasts how she achieved sovereignty over her husbands and got what she wanted by using trickery, force and continuous complaining. This extended to the bedroom where Alison would scold and withhold sex from her husband. That is, until he (metaphorically) paid his ransom to her, only then she would let him have his pleasure. Anyone can profit and everything is for sale, says Alison, who will sell her body to satisfy her greed for money and material things.
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