The Wife of Bath represented a semi-independent woman of that time period in the sense of her career, wealth, and relations.
She worked as a seamstress, which seems fitting as she came from the town of Bath. Bath is an English city situated along the Avon River that is known for its woven and sewn creations.
Because of her job, the Wife of Bath had money and wanted all to know it. When Chaucer stated that no one passed her on the altar steps, he was indicating that the Wife ensured this happened so that she could show off what kind of money she had and how much she gave to the church. During this time period, people wishing to present offerings to the church did so by walking to the front and dropping their contribution into the offering collection plate. By going first, the others behind her would see exactly how much she left in the empty collection plate. She was wealthy and she wanted others to know it.
Throughout her life, the Wife of Bath had a total of five husbands. Chaucer adds that the husbands were in addition to the "other company" she had during her youth years. In other words, she had many relations in youthful days.
Always worthy to note is the fact that the Wife's Tale contains the theme of female dominance.
All of these factors are rare for a woman during the Middle Ages, who mostly depended on a man for all things in life.
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