During the time that Chaucer wrote the Canterbury Tales, men viewed women as the lesser of the two sexes. In writing about the Wife of Bath, Chaucer draws on much of the anti-feminist sentiment of the time to satirize the idea that women are less than men. When Chaucer creates the character of Alison, he uses her as a foil to the entrenched roles that women fill. Alison, the Wife of Bath, asserts her views on marriage and the role of women, while contradicting the customs that keep women oppressed. Even though it's about women dominating their men, the effect Alison wants to achieve is a balance of power between men and women. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Alison attempts to prove that her way is better by attacking the shortcomings and double standards of current gender roles. Call attention to these disparities in smart ways. The Wife of Bath begins her first point by saying that Christ's teachings have "taught her from that very precedent / That I should not marry more than once" (Chaucer 219). She continues: I know that Abraham was a holy man, and Jacob too, as far as I know; and they had more than two wives, both of them, and also many other holy men. (220)By recalling the lives of these holy men, Alison dispels the stigma of women marrying more than once, stating that even holy men can have more than one wife. The wife goes on to explain that her marriage to five husbands has given her the experience needed to make these statements. She goes on to explain, “Three were good husbands, two of them were bad / The three good ones were very rich and old” and “[had] given [her] their land and their property” (224). Old husbands are the best because when they die their riches continue to make Alison feel comfortable and through this custom, it shows that women hold their own kind of power. When talking about her fifth and favorite husband, Alison gets to the point of her rant. The wife explains that her fifth husband is especially cruel in evaluating wives by flaunting his education. He reads Alison a book about wicked wives, resulting in a physical fight. The argument makes the husband realize that he must surrender to her, causing their relationship to reach a level of mutual respect and kindness. Her husband gave her "[not] only the management of the house and the land, / but of his tongue, and also of his fist" (239). Thus, not only did the wife win over her husband and take control of his life, but she also introduced the crux of his story. The story begins with Arthur's knights raping a young maiden, showing that even during the time of chivalry, women were ruled. by men. The wife then places the knight's fate in the hands of Guinevere, who sends the knight on a quest to find out what women really want. By placing the knight's fate in the queen's hands instead of the king's, Alison reverses gender roles by making him dependent on a woman's mercy. This act places the focus of the story on the needs of women, rather than those of men. The knight eventually finds his answer by promising himself to an old witch who tells him she knows the answer to his quest. The hag demands that the knight marry her, and he relents, surrendering his youthful, masculine power to his ancient feminine wisdom. Alison has the hag reveal that "[t]he women desire to have dominion / Over their husbands and also over their lovers" (245). Once the knight receives his answer and marries the hag, she gives him the choice between being ugly and.