The Wife of Bath's Tale

What problem does the knight find when he starts asking women the question of the riddle?

• He finds that most refuse to speak to him because they know of his crime.

• None of them ever agrees on the answer.

• They gave him frivolous responses, obviously not taking him seriously.

• They give him misleading responses, hoping he will fail in his quest.

What do the twenty-four women do as the knight approaches them?

• They encircle him, dancing a seduction ritual, hoping to ensnare him.

• They run away into the forest because they are wearing nothing but fig leaves.

• They attempt to lure him into the dark forest.

• They all vanish, leaving behind one foul old woman.

What does the hag say she wants in return for providing the answer to the knight's riddle?

• All his worldly possessions

• To grant her next request, if it should it be in his power

• Three kisses each night for as long as she lives

• A place of honor in King Arthur’s court

What does the hag teach the young knight about gentility in her bedroom lecture to him?

• A gentile husband always lets his wife have the upper hand.

•  A man cannot be genteel by upbringing; he is simply born gentile by virtue of his family.

• A man is not born genteel because of his noble family; rather gentility comes from cooperating with the grace of God.

• Gentility corrupts character; do not aspire to be a gentleman or you may confuse ugliness with beauty.

What defense does the hag provide for her poverty and her ugliness? In other words, why is her ugliness an advantage to her husband, the knight?

• No other man will ever be attracted to her; therefore, she will by necessity remain a loyal wife forever.

• She will always have the pity of fellow human beings, especially those who honor the aged.

• Since her ugliness largely stems from her old age, it is accompanied by wisdom.

• He will never be distracted or “dragged down” by her physical beauty, which is only superficial and matters little anyway.

The hag asks the knight if he would rather have his wife old and ugly but faithful and loyal OR young and pretty but unfaithful and untrue. How does the knight respond to the hag’s question?

• He says he wants his wife young and pretty, and that he can train her to be faithful.

• He says he doesn’t really want an old hag as a wife, but he’d rather his wife be faithful.

• He says both are terrible choices: He wants a wife pretty and faithful.

• He says he doesn’t care which, and that she should make the decision for him.

Why does The Wife of Bath retell the tale of Midas?

• she has read the works of Ovid

• to highlight the knight as being greedy like king Midas

• in order to show why women shouldn't conceal the truth on others behalf

• to reveal that men are similar to donkeys

How did the old woman attempt to convince the knight that he shouldn’t hate her?

• She makes no attempt to change his mind, and revels in the fact that he has to marry her anyways.

• By showing him that she is actually beautiful, and she was using witchcraft to appear old

• By reminding the knight of Jesus' teachings regarding poverty and the wisdom of elders

• By begging him to be kinder to her due to her age

How did the old woman's appearance shift at the conclusion of the story?

• It doesn't, she still remains unappealing to the knight

• She becomes beautiful

How does the knight respond to the old woman's demands?

• He doesn't want to do it but reluctantly agrees

• Terrified of her, he automatically complies

• he ignores her as he already saved his life

• due to the fact she saved his life he happily agrees