Character analysis for Wife of Bath..... I can see an old fashioned feminist

The Wife of Bath is one of the two female storytellers within the Canterbury tales ( the other being the prioress) and is described as a woman of the world in many ways. She has had many experiences throughout her travels as a pilgrim, and has seen many lands, she feels Canterbury is a 'Jaunt' in comparison to some of the more cultural areas she has been to. Another worldly part of her character is that she has lived with five husbands and is quite a sexual person. She has been in love several times and feels experience is a necessity within life. She is quite a controlling person and knows how to manipulate men by using possession of her own body against them.  The Wife of Bath is quite an argumentative person and uses common sense to back up her points rather than intellectual knowledge. That being said, the Parson and the Clerk feel her views on the subject are scandalous and go against everything they believe in. 

The Wife of Bath's description about her appearance is of extravagance. She wears her Sunday best of rich colours, scarlet being the main with other colours highlighting the richness. During the middle ages when this was set, Scarlet was a very costly dye as it was made from singular red beetles, thus showing her wealth. Her face is wrapped in heavy cloth and she wears soft leather shoes. Bath during the time was one of the worlds largest cloth making towns and was petitioning for a place beside the Netherlands and Belgium who were the largest exporters of cloths. 

My own thoughts:

I can see The Wife of Bath as quite a gutsy character who isn't afraid to speak her own mind, a old fashioned feminist in some ways. She has her own sort of intelligence and feels she is just as important, if not more so than men. She likes to argue her points and doesn't back down.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFx3VdC0A9I

I found the above link which gave me a little insight to the character. Julie Walters plays the Wife of Bath in a more modern context compared to the one I am currently studying, however the portrayal and the way she carries herself within the performance is how I feel the character extends her views in a way which is believable and appropriate for the audience to understand.