The
Wife of

 Bath

INTERVIEW CONTEST
TASK: You are a very lucky journalist: you have just had the chance of your life! You can use a time machine to go back to the Middle Ages  and  interview an interesting woman  whose personality has  always intrigued you : Chaucer’s Wife  of Bath.  Here you can find a short introduction to the woman but don’t forget that you are expected to start your interview only after having carried out some research about the protagonist of the article. Here are some websites you can  search for information: they should help you gather what you need for your article.

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/c/the-canterbury-tales/character-analysis/the-wife-of-bath

http://csis.pace.edu/grendel/projs993d/charac.htm

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/c/the-canterbury-tales/summary-and-analysis/the-wife-of-baths-prologue-and-tale

http://www.123helpme.com/wife-of-bath-view.asp?id=161995

FACTFILE:

Name:.....................................

Age:.........................................

Profession:...................................

Marital status:.............................

Hobbies:........................................

Other relevant elements:

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By the time she left on pilgrimage for Canterbury the wife of Bath had already had 5 husbands, including one, Johnny, the fifth, who was much younger than her.

As concerning her previous life we don’t know anything else than what Chaucer himself tells us in the Prologue: beside being plump, determined, self-assured and strong willed she was surely wealthy and endowed with a strong sexual drive, as we may infer from  the author’s open hints at her physical aspect as well as at her personality.  

Whoever has some knowledge of the Middle Ages, an age when the women’s role had to undergo harsh  restrictions, however, will be  puzzled by this woman’s unconventional character.  Many questions come to our mind: how could she possibly have become so rich and autonomous? How come she, a woman,  had managed to climb the social ladder? Where had she learned her trade?

In order to find out about this and much more, ask her directly: this is your unique chance to get first hand information straight from the source. You will then publish your scoop on the blog: you will surely  get visibility online and, who knows, you might even end up winning the Pulitzer Prize!!!

Luciana Simonetta GUIDO–

           MIUR- Istituto Comprensivo TEGLIA- Corso di lingua e metodologia dell’inglese per la scuola primaria                                                                                                                                                                     –Settembre-Dicembre 2015