In Chaucer's diverse group of pilgrims, the Wife of Bath most simply represents a woman of the time. Unlike the Prioress and her companion, who are the only other women on the pilgrimage and who represent other things, her sole purpose is to simply be a woman. Chaucer says of her: "Of the cloth-making, where a meeting was, passed from the verge of Ypres and Gaunt, throughout the parish where it was noon, that for the offering before the heir should go." (Chaucer, pp. 310 ) This passage described her as a good cloth maker who gave gifts in abundance to the church. She does not represent women as the typical weak gender, but is a medieval woman at her most eloquent and most basic (Jones, pp. 1). The Wife of Bath is essentially a conformist and although her behavior may at times seem out of control, her needs are in fact completely normal. Simply put, she likes men and doesn't like sleeping alone. She strives to meet these needs, but according to Chaucer she remained faithful to each of her five ex-husbands when they were alive. She flirts and is familiar with men, but doesn't really advocate sex outside of marriage anywhere. Her prologue begins by boasting of her experience with men: "Experience, even if noon auctoritee were in this world, it is right for me, to speak of what is in marriage." (Chaucer, ll. 1). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayChaucer begins his description of his wife by telling us that she is somewhat deaf. Being deaf she cannot hear what others say about her. She says that this deafness is a sin and this sympathy on Chaucer's part might be because if she could hear what others might say about her, then she might change her ways. She continues and says that she is an excellent seamstress and weaver. This implies that she may have had nice, expensive clothes and the appearance of a real woman of the time (Dalcourt, pp. 1). Chaucer goes on to say that it is important to her to be the first to make an offering in church and that she often gives generously. Being the first, the wife makes sure that everyone sees her donating such huge sums of money. If she was the last to donate, people may have already left or not paid attention to her donation. Since he gives a lot each time, this implies that he may feel guilty about something or that he has sinned terribly and is now trying to buy forgiveness. By giving all this money to the church, God may overlook its wrong doings. In the next line Chaucer alludes to the sinful side of his wife. He describes her as wearing scarlet red stockings, even on Sundays. Red is a color commonly associated with love, passion and anger. Chaucer also makes a special point that his stockings are not just red, but scarlet in color. Chaucer says that the wife has been at the church doors, or has been married, five times. The act of several marriages of a woman was despised in the days of The Canterbury Tales, but it was an achievement for any man. He is also said to have participated in five previous pilgrimages. This could imply that she feels guilty towards her ex-husbands. Each man died before she married another. The previous pilgrimages could have been his way of repenting of death and receiving forgiveness. The wife is also described as having a gaping tooth. This trait is commonly associated with lust and love. He also rode a horse quite easily. This is a trait not typical of women because they were considered fragile creatures who were not