Of all the many women depicted in literature over the centuries, Geoffrey Chaucer's Wife of Bath has inspired greater discussion and gender analysis than the majority . She is alternately praised and criticized for her behavior and her worldview; critics cannot decide whether it constitutes a strong portrait of 14th century feminism or a scathing mockery of the female sex. Its story and prologue are riddled with themes of conflict and power struggle between the sexes, and the winner of this battle is not made clear. As Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is a parody of various societal conceptions and literary conventions, it is likely that this ambiguity was entirely intentional. By comparing the Wife of Bath and her husbands to the characters presented in the tale, Chaucer subtly but clearly implies that there is no true victor in the battle of the sexes; the essential qualities of men and women are equally disreputable, and harmony between the two can only be achieved when an illusion of triumph has been constructed separately for both parties. The Woman precedes her story with a fairly long prologue, in which she recounts in detail the story of her five different marriages. The prologue may at first glance seem to have very little to do with the story itself, but in fact the wife's treatment of her husbands (and their responses to her) are echoed later when she begins her story. . The Wife's husbands fall into two categories: the rich and older, or the “good,” and the young and virile, or the “bad” (203). Older husbands, although wealthy, are unable to satisfy their wives in the bedroom. However, she takes great pleasure in dominating these men in almost every aspect of every marriage. Sh...... middle of paper......the dynamics of the union exposed in both the Wife's Prologue and her chivalrous tale places the man and woman on an equal footing equality; they are by turns equally contemptible and laudable. As the wife finds harmony with the one she loves and the witch provides a happy ending for both her and the knight, Chaucer seems to present a balance between the masculine and the feminine: harmony is achieved thanks to the sacrifice of both parties. True love and a healthy relationship can never arise without this compromise, because both sexes desire to control the other. You have to give up something on each side. Chaucer implies that a woman's triumph over a man's control can always bring a happy ending; as long as they think they are at the top, men will be happy, and as long as they are given some semblance of power, women will happily devote themselves to the men they control..