Rolla
Khass, Verrazzano Class of 2025, completing major in SLS
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| Rolla working on Tatreez tapestry |
Of all of the historical stories we have read, one that stayed with me was Chaucer's Wife of Bath, which reveals a complicated worldview about the power relationship between men and women. The Wife of Bath, Alison, shares her experiences with marriage and her opinion of the role women play while maintaining her independence. I wanted to compare the connection between historical context and the present perspectives on gender roles and education.
This work speaks to me because it sheds light on the complicated issues of women's current lives and voices in the past. During Chaucer's era, women were usually seen as inferior to men, mainly destined to household duties. However, Alison identifies herself by being bold, assertive, and openly expressive about her desires and experiences. The story of The Wife of Bath explores power relations in marriage and the larger social implications of women's freedom.
In my life, the progress toward gender equality in education and careers has been notable, but obstacles still exist. There are women today who stand on their own disregarding any traditional and cultural views of where and how women should be, through the lens of men.
Thinking about the character’s story, I noticed similarities with the ongoing fight for women's rights and representation. Her story emphasizes the value of speaking up, and how education can empower people to question traditional norms. This has helped women today to stand up for our values of self-empowerment, by challenging societal standards and working hard to get themselves to the top.
Alison’s emphasis on human experiences as sources of learning is fascinating. She prioritizes her life’s lessons over traditional academic education, which reflects on my belief in practical knowledge and wisdom. There is a rising respect for different learning experiences and their benefits in today's schools.
The “Wife of Bath” is varied with layers of personalities demonstrating both the limitations placed on women and their abilities to flourish within those limitations, especially on someone like me, as a Muslim Arab.
However, these limitations are not meant to limit me, but to keep me safe as a Muslim, and I am content with it in many ways. I can picture Chaucer's character Alison with how things are now. As a woman, I can say I am able to flourish within the cultural limitations placed on me, where I can balance work life as an Islamic teacher and college student. I have an independent life with a busy work schedule and a home life where I assist with cooking, cleaning and much more. I have an old soul many say, who loves the old ways where women stay home and bake, cook, care for others, yet doesn't limit them from being a successful self-built woman.
My Palestinian identity ties in with this, where Palestinian women are taught to stay at home, enjoy their hobbies, and spend their days at the beach in Palestine, which is what both of my parents were taught, being raised in Gaza. This is where the cultural limitations and stereotypes of women staying at home come from and one my mom had to break so that her children could flourish, enjoying their road to success in the outside world.
That being said, because we were able to do what we wanted outside of the house, I became more interested in doing things at home. I learned the hobbies that my Palestinian ancestral grandmothers did at home, called Tatreez. Tatreez is Palestinian embroidery, and not only have I loved to stay at home and do embroidery, but I’ve taken what I’ve learned and created a business from this.
I’ve reached a stage where I know I can balance my at-home life with a successful life on the outside world. Chaucer's “Wife of Bath” supports this view where Alison has strength with what she wants and with no care about how she is judged. It was the era of women discovering their worth, where male authors shared the literature of strong women making their mark. Overall, I found this course to be very relatable with the present world in many aspects.
