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Definitions concerning propriety in courtship and marriage vary throughout cultures. During the 11th century, courtly love in France emphasized a dominant female role in relationships. Though the French presented veneers of high moral character, they allowed adulterous lusts to outweigh self-control. Conversely, those living in medieval England adhered to the Christian ideal of husbands possessing power over wives in monogamous marriages. Using accounts of relational perversion that the Wife of Bath and Clerk present in The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer argues that successful marriages create an environment where men and women experience harmony. By alluding to hostile interactions of mythical gods in the "Wife of Bath's Prologue," Chaucer lays a foundation on which he argues for harmony in marriage. Throughout her Prologue, The Wife of Bath questions the Christian ideal of marriage and strikes out against pilgrims who deny the value of remarriage and sexual intercourse. After bolstering her claims with Biblical passages, the Wife employs a mythological analogy. As the Roman goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, Venus represents the insatiable sensual desires that drive humanity. Although the sexual lusts Venus produces rage within people, the desires for trade, profit, and commerce that Mercury controls exert power as well. Unable to form a peaceful bond with one another, Mercury and Venus wage war in the hearts and minds of humans. As a victim of the war between Mercury and Venus, the Wife of Bath experiences disturbing instability in her marital motives. Although the Wife takes great joy in sexual intercourse with men, she refuses to surrender completely to the forceful hand of Venus. The Wife considers the potential for monetary and societal advancements that a future spouse can yield before entering a relationship. In a rare instance of self-analysis, the Wife realizes the forces Mercury and Venus exert on her and declares, "And Venus falleth ther Mercurie is reysed" (705). In Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales, William Witherle Lawrence notices the astrological confrontation of relational motives. He comments, "Not without influence on Chaucer were the 'physiognomies,' popular pseudo-scientific treatises linking mental characteristics ... with astrology" (55). On three occasions, these forces cause the Wife to pursue the economic prosperity older men provide. When sexual desires consume her, the Wife is willing to sacrifice the wealth of older men for intimacy with younger mates. The emotional crossfire occurring between Mercury and Venus causes the Wife to experience instable motivations for marriage. Chaucer warns against schemes to obtain spousal supremacy, the Wife's only constant motivation for relationships, by showing that these schemes rob the Wife of greater joys. Speaking of her methods to subdue the will of her husbands, the Wife proposes, "Whoso that first to mille comth, first grynt;/ I pleyned first, so oure were ystynt" (389-390). Knowing that a spouse who makes the first effort to gain control acquires power, the Wife lashes out in verbal tirades against her husbands. The husbands appease the Wife by falsely admitting guilt for marital problems when they are unable to bear her incessant nagging. Achieving her goal of domination renders the Wife incapable of greater fulfillment in life. Commenting on morality in Chaucer's works, Helen Storm Corsa insists, "Mastery the Wife of Bath may want in marriage and this she has been able to have, though at great cost, but love and continuing youth ... have been the imponderable impossibilities" (148). Multiple marriages and constant discontent that come from the Wife's desire for dominance convey Chaucer's opposition to relationships that place women in roles of superiority. Before using "The Clerk's Tale" to support the Chaucerian view of marital compromise, a negation of the Clerk's claim that the Tale possesses mere allegorical power must occur. The position of this Tale in the "marriage group" points to its importance. In his attempt to reconcile the ideas proposed in the marriage group, Donald Howard proposes, "The tales of Fragments III, IV, and V... deal with marriage or domestic harmony... where the domestic realm is violated with uncivil shenanigans" (Howard 247). After presenting a tale of male dominance over a submissive wife, the Clerk explains to pilgrims listening that his tale focuses on Christian perseverance through adversity: This storie is seyd nat for what wyves sholde Folwen Grisilde as in humylitee, For it were inportable, though they wolde, But for that every wight, in his degree, Sholde be constant in adversitee. (Chaucer 142-146) If the Clerk's claim holds true, this account does not support Chaucer's motif of marital compromise. Unwilling to allow the destructive actions Walter inflicts on his wife Griselda to hide behind allegory, Chaucer asserts an envoy to the Clerk's tale. The death of Griselda stems from patient endurance under her husband's tyrannical rule and leads the Clerk to conclude that "No wedded man so hardy be t'assaille/ His wyves pacience in trust to fynde/ Grisildis, for in certein he shal faille" (1180-1182). Even though the Clerk's Tale holds weight as an encouragement for Christian patience through torment, Chaucer's envoy allows him to build upon his tenet that harmony holds marriages together. Chaucer develops his case for marital harmony by detailing the failures Walter and Griselda experience in a relationship founded on male superiority. Walter hesitates to submit when his countrymen encourage marriage. Even though Walter takes pleasure in the power he has as marquis of Saluzzo, he agrees to marry upon hearing the citizens argue their need for an heir. Walter allows his desire for autonomy to remain, however, when he forbids the people to choose his bride. Although he claims Griselda's physical and moral beauty motivate him to marry her, Walter never completely surrenders to love. Before marrying Griselda, Walter shows his continual need for sovereignty by questioning Griselda's commitment: I seye this: be ye redy with good herte To al my lust, and that I frely may, As me best thynketh, do yow laughe or smerte, And nevere ye to grucche it, nyght ne day? (351-354) Griselda's willingness to surrender to Walter creates a relational environment where Walter's desires for dominion grow. During the initial stages of their marriage, Walter and Griselda live in harmony while winning the affection of their people through promotion of the common good. Marital prosperity perishes, however, when Walter's desires for autonomy resurface. Unable to share the admiration of his people and the power of his position with Griselda, Walter subjects her to devious trials in an attempt to break her character. Although Walter claims he designed the tests to discover Griselda's true character, these tests stem from his increasing need for sovereignty in marriage. After Griselda gives birth to a baby girl, Walter tests her and risks hurting his daughter by separating them. Before this separation, Walter reminds Griselda that she submitted her will to his wishes in all circumstances. Upon facing Walter's claim to dominance, Griselda submits to her husband's wishes and relinquishes her baby. Four years pass peacefully until Griselda conceives a boy. After the birth of his son, Walter's tyrannical actions confirm that relationships fail when husbands have dominance over wives. Walter's decision to take his son from Griselda elicits a response from the Clerk: "But wedded men ne knowe no mesure,/ Whan that they fynde a pacient creature" (622-623). The inhumane manner in which Walter treats Griselda when he has relational dominance confirm Chaucer's claim that marriages fail when one spouse is supreme. Miseries alone do not substantiate the necessity of marital compromise, so Chaucer supplements "The Wife's Tale" to demonstrate how harmony in the midst of trials leads to pleasure. This tale unfolds to reveal the consequences a knight faces when he rapes a maiden- simultaneously giving into lusts for dominance and sex. Instead of executing the knight for his exploits, King Arthur hands him over to the queen. Unwilling to let the knight go free for his actions, the queen imposes a daunting task: "I grante thee lyf, if thou kanst tellen me/ What thyng is it that wommen moost desiren" (904-905). When he asks many women what they desire most, the knight receives answers ranging from wealth to sex. These diverse responses do not help the knight arrive at a definite answer, so he continues to search. By the end of this mission, the knight learns that women desire sovereignty and reaps the benefits that derive from being in harmony with a woman's wishes. The life-saving answer the knight learns from an old woman may not appear to correlate with the Chaucerian contention for marital compromise, but the woman's ensuing actions nullify her words. While standing before the queen to present his answer for what women desire, the knight conveys his new understanding that women crave a position of power over men. Pleased with his answer, the queen sets the knight free. A deal the knight made with the old woman, however, returns him to bondage. Repulsed by the woman's age, appearance, and poverty, the knight urges her to reconsider when she requests his hand in marriage. Desiring a relationship with the knight over any earthly possession, the woman remains steadfast. The knight surrenders to the old woman's will because of his reluctance to break an agreement. With its foundation of obligation, this marriage brings immediate dissatisfaction. Wise to her husband's displeasure, the woman presents arguments to convince the knight of marital joy. Void of beauty and youth, the woman argues that the temporary value of these characteristics cannot equal the worth of her faithfulness. Stunned when the knight does not engage with her on their marriage bed, the woman questions her husband's unwillingness to surrender sexually. The woman promises to amend her shortcomings if her husband divulges his reasons for displeasure. Although he views his wife's inadequacies as permanent problems, the knight confesses that the woman's age and appearance produce his disgust. When she hears the knight's complaints, the woman immediately questions his source of fulfillment: "Than drede you noght to been a cokewold;/ For filthe and eelde, also moot I thee,/ Been grete wardeyns upon chastitee" (1214- 1216). Though the woman desires her husband's unconditional love and respect, she allows him to make a choice. The knight must choose either to venture into a new relationship with a beautiful maiden or to remain in a marriage with an ugly woman of virtue. The knight's decision to permit his virtuous wife to decide the fate of their relationship finalizes the case for marital compromise. Understanding the dissatisfaction that his lustful desires have created, the knight chooses to heed his wife's wise counsel that women desire sovereignty in marriage. Upon granting his wife the respect she requests, the knight conquers longings that once obscured his view and sees his wife in her truest form. Although the woman transforms into a beautiful maiden, her virtue remains. The woman knows that tyrannical rule over her husband will not bring bliss, so she allows the knight to have influence in the relationship: "A thousand tyme a-rewe he gan hire kisse,/ And she obeyed hym in every thyng/ That myghte doon hym plesance or likyng" (1254-1256). Instead of creating an oppressive environment in their relationship, the woman and the knight establish a unified companionship that produces joy. By demonstrating that benefits of marital harmony outweigh pains of marital perversion, Chaucer refutes the conception that marriages founded on dominance and submission bring satisfaction. Referencing George Lyman Kittredge's thesis concerning unity in the marriage group, Donald Howard reveals the importance of this section in The Canterbury Tales: Kittredge's premise was that the "marriage group" ended with...a compromise between courtly love and Christian marriage as a way of establishing domestic concord, and that the solution was 'what Chaucer thought about marriage. (247) Even when a person acknowledges the devastation of relational tyranny, sacrificing selfish motives for the maintenance of a healthy marriage presents challenges. Chaucer clarifies that in order to attain satisfaction, spouses must endure the pain of putting aside destructive desires and pursue compromises that create contentment. Works Cited Chaucer, Geoffrey. " The Canterbury Tales." The Riverside Chaucer Third Edition. Ed. Larry D. Benson. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1987, 105-122, 138-153. Corsa, Helen Storm. Chaucer: Poet of Mirth and Morality. Indiana: Notre Dame Press, 1964. Howard, Donald R. The Idea of the Canterbury Tales. England: University of California Press, 1976. Lawrence, William Witherle. Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales. New York: Columbia University Press, 1950. |
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