Question

compose your responses below.
write a short literary analysis in which you respond to the following statement: in \the wife of bath’s tale,\ women are elevated and abused, respected and rejected.
write a cer paragraph explaining
you may use direct quotes from the poem or you can paraphrase information.
cer sentence frames - use these to help you build your paragraph:
claim: in \the wife of bath’s tale,\ women are both elevated and abused because ______.
evidence: for example, this selection from the text, \......\ (insert quote or paraphrase) shows that women can be respected and mistreated at the same time because ______.
reason: this supports the theme of ______ by showing that women’s power in the tale is

Explanation:

To write the CER paragraph for "The Wife of Bath’s Tale":

Claim:

In “The Wife of Bath’s Tale,” women are both elevated and abused because the narrative simultaneously grants them agency (like the old woman’s control over the knight’s choice) and subjects them to objectification (e.g., the knight’s initial violence toward women).

Evidence:

For example, this selection from the text, “A woman wants…sovereignty / Over her husband as over her lover, / And to have mastery his whole life long” (the old woman’s speech) shows that women can be respected and mistreated at the same time because the old woman asserts women’s right to authority (elevation), yet the tale’s opening depicts a knight who rapes a maiden (abuse).

Reason:

This supports the theme of gender power dynamics by showing that women’s power in the tale is complex—they gain respect through asserting sovereignty but are also vulnerable to male violence, reflecting the contradictory treatment of women in medieval society.

Answer:

Claim:

In “The Wife of Bath’s Tale,” women are both elevated and abused because the story balances female agency with misogynistic treatment.

Evidence:

For example, this selection from the text, “A woman wants…sovereignty / Over her husband as over her lover, / And to have mastery his whole life long” (the old woman’s dialogue) shows that women can be respected and mistreated at the same time because the old woman demands marital authority (elevation), while the knight’s initial crime (raping a maiden) embodies abuse.

Reason:

This supports the theme of gendered power by showing that women’s power is dual: they claim respect through sovereignty yet endure male violence, mirroring medieval society’s conflicting views of women.