The Wife of Bath The Wife of Bath, in my opinion, is one of Chaucer's wisest characters. I am somewhat surprised that he made up such a character, as he was writing these tales in the early fourteenth century. She took what she did have, which was wit and wisdom, and used it to her advantage. Although she was assumed to be an ugly old woman, she had five husbands all of whom she had mastered only to have them die. She personifies the character that women of her era secretly aspired to, however because of the restrictions imposed upon them by society, they could not be the Wife of Bath. She is obviously a very strong woman and knows what she wants. "Ex