Would you like to be a woman who lives life a little freely (Wife of Bath) or a woman who has many rules to abide by (Prioress)? Most women would choose to live freely, but is that really the best option. Only you know which option would be better for you.
The Prioress is a nun. She dressed in a cloak with a veil over her head. She also had a bracelet around her arm. On the bracelet was a golden brooch. The brooch had a crowned A on it and underneath the A was the words Amor vincit omnia, "Love overcomes all." This was what she wore every single day of her life. The Wife of Bath on the other hand is more a farming type of woman. She would usually dress in a pair of pants and a t-shirt tied up with a belt just right above her navel area.
From the first page of Canterbury Tales: The Wife ...
Wife of Bath in the Ellesmere manuscript
Rosa 'Wife of Bath', Austin 1969She also wore a bonnet on her head to instead of a veil. This was what she dressed in most of the time. She did usually wear a dress to church, as women do today.
The Prioress would always worry about what she looked like and about all the little creatures that were around her. It can be inferred that the Prioress was a very neat and clean woman as explained in the following lines from the prologue "And she would wipe her upper lip so clean That not a trace of grease was to be seen" (Prologue, 137-138). The Wife of Bath is similar to the Prioress when it comes to cleanliness. The only difference is that the Wife of Bath is not a clean freak. The Wife of Bath does not really care much if she gets a little dirty or if something is...