Superficiality and Cynicism in the Wife of Bath's Tale

          I feel as if most people have an idealized response to the character of the knight in the Wife of Bath's tale because he displayed respect for the old hag and transformed into a more honorable human being. I think that we should consider another interpretation however, because if Chaucer had intended the tale to be perceived in this way, it would make the Wife of Bath appear to be an ideal character who believes in the potentiality of men, and we know from her prologue that this is not the case. After being married several times, and seeing how easy it is to manipulate men, not to mention her latest husband having been abusive despite her love for him, I find it hard to believe that she would not be slightly cynical about men. For this reason, I feel as if the knight allowed the old hag to choose whether she would be beautiful or ugly because he was indifferent and had figured out how she wanted him to respond. If this is the case, then the knight’s supposed transformation is superficial, which perhaps is why the old hag gave him such a superficial reward.
         We are all familiar with the tale of an ugly old woman turning into a beautiful maiden from fairy tales like "Beauty and the Beast," but while the theme behind this trasnformation is that true beauty lies underneath physical appearance, the Wife of Bath attempts to convey that women should be obeyed by their husbands no matter what they look like. I think that the Wife of Bath intended the old hag to represent herself as she would like to be perceived by others, as someone who is no longer in the prime years of youth, but who remains passionate and cunning, but also cynical of the nature of man.