The Wife of Bath's Tale

The Wife of Bath's Tale shows the Wife's opposition to patriarchal society.  The knight who rapes a woman is handed over to women who will decide his fate, a woman tells him an answer that saves him from being killed, and the answer is that "wommen desyren to have sovereyntee as wel over hir housbond as hir love, and for to been in maistrie him above."  Finally, the knight ends up with a beautiful and faithful wife only by giving her control of their relationship.  This is the first of the tales in which everyone ends up happy; in "The Knight's Tale" Arcite dies, and in "The Miller's Tale" John the carpenter is thought to be crazy by everyone in the town.  This could be because the Wife of Bath wants her tale of a more matriarchal society to be remembered as happy.  Just as the knight told a tale with a galiant duke, Theseus, the Wife's tale involves an old woman who has a wonderful personality and transforms into physically beautiful person as well.  The characters telling the tales portray the character who most represents themselves within the tale as someone almost unbelievably perfect.