Hi, I'm off work and getting ready to go to class.
I did want to explain my position on the Wife. Last semester, I took a class just on Chaucer. In the midst of all the research I came across an article in which the writer contrasted the Wife with the writings of Christine de Pizan. De Pizan would have been considered an intellectual and social equal of Chaucer's. Anyway, the writer of the essay advanced the idea that de Pizan's writings put the Wife in perspective - de Pizan would not have considered the Wife's portrayal as a positive one at all. It was all very interesting, and made me totally reconsider my take on the Wife (which, at least for me, is the fun of the whole thing).
de Pizan was in the unfortunate position of being a widow in Europe -- one of the wonderful things about England (that led directly to the greatness of the British Empire in my not so humble opinion) was the financial and social independence given to the yeoman class, the burgher class, and the widow. The Wife of Bath was able to hold her somewhat aggressive opinions precisely because she had social and economic standing.