Wife of Bath's Tale Discussion

Here are some things I found discussion-worthy for "The Wife of Bath's Tale":

My first point of interest is the length of "The Wife of Bath's Tale" compared to "The Wife of Bath's Prologue". None of the travelers we met so far got such in depth stories for their prorogued. It was more of a "pick me first"  scramble. With the Wife of Bath we are presented an in depth look at her personal, which sounds a lot like a tale on its own. This twice as long prologue does not eradicate the importance of the tale

Now that we have gotten over the shock at the length of the tale let us tackle some of the shocking (or not) content. Is this tale some sort of parody of "The Knights Tale". Upon reading the beginning of the tale it was all so familiar; savior King,  knight does wrong, women plea for grace. But in this tale it is the crime of the knight and the comparison of the friars to incubi that make the tale come off as a play on "The Knights Tale".  To have the knight commit rape is an interesting choice that I believe ties into the feminist  workings of the tale. But is this really a feminist tale? I mean, the knight does get off. In the end does his punishment satisfy the feminist in me? Now these fairies and incubi, for what reason would Chaucher choose to use such a comparison? It seems the friars are better because they rape but leave no evidence (pregnancy) behind. But, what is he trying to say about the court. In many ways they are just like the fairies that no longer exist, so nothing has really changed. The tale is already making known that rape happens often by those of the court. Interestingly enough it is those of the court that say the knight should be decapitated. Maybe they are trying to cover up their own sins or make themselves feel better. It is clear that Chaucer is making fun of the court.

So, on to what the knight must do. He is given one year to find out what women want most in the world. Now this tale just continue to pile up on the feminist aspect. This is becoming a go to guide on "how to satisfy your woman". This also ties back to "The Knights Tale", the knight is on a quest. The important part of this said quest is the old hag that gives him the life saving answer. She's old and ugly as part of the knights punishment. Oh, and she is a trickster. They say "behind evryman's fall is a women" and my favorite, "women are the root of all evil". We'll old hag, you're not making it look to good for us. Honestly, I rather the knight bring killed off by a beautiful goddess-like lady he marries. In the end of this tale the night is given exactly what he desires. Granted, do is the old lady. But, she gives in and compromises. I guess this go-to-guide is saying compromises must be made. But this ending makes me feel slightly bad for the knight. I began to forget the reason he had to go on this quest, there is no satisfaction for me in that. Those who commit crimes should be punished accordingly.