Marriages Canterbury Tales

A detailed Summary of Marriages Canterbury Tales

Throughout Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, the marriages in the stories are as different and as intertwined as the pilgrims themselves who told of these tales. The diversity amongst the marriages was well illustrated by the following tales, The Wife of Bath, Alisoun's departure from the standard beliefs, whose principle was that the wife should rule the husband for a happy marriage. The Clerk, Walter, showed the accepted and traditional view of the husband as the master over the wife. The Merchant as depicted by January showed personal bitterness towards women and in the Franklin's Tale, Arveragus and Dorigen idealized mutual love and honor between husband and wife.

The Wife of Bath. "Of husbands at church door have I had five" (311), "welcome the sixth whenever come he shall" (312). Alisoun was thought to be a loose woman, almost trampish but her feelings were so, "I am free to wed, in God's name, where it pleases me" (312). She had three good husbands, all of which were old and rich who treated her well and she picked them clean, her other two husbands were bad. Her fourth husband had a mistress so Alisoun pretended to be unfaithful as well, an sent him to his grave. "But certainly I showed so gay a soul that in his own

thick grease I made him fry for anger and for utter jealousy. By God, on earth I was his purgatory" (324). The fifth husband though she loved him the best was the one that beat her. After striking her for tearing out a page in his cursed book, seeing how she lay so helpless he said, "O my dear sister Alison, so help me God, I'll never strike you more" (332). "My own true wedded wife, do as you please the term of all your life, guard your own honor and keep fair my state after that day we never had debate" (332). Alisoun believed that the woman should be the master of the relationship, "Who shall be both my debtor and my thrall and have his tribulations therewithal Upon his flesh, the while I am his wife, I have the power during all my life over his own good body, and not he" (315).

Trans. J. U. Nicolson. Covici.Friede. Inc 1934

The Franklin's Tale. Averagus and Dorigen marry swearing to one another that neither will ever exert absolute power over the other. They are truly in love with each other. Averagus leaves for two years to go to Britain, leaving Dorigen lovesick. She mourned for her beloved husband in his absence until she received letters from him telling of his soon return. In the mean time, Aurelius, a young squire falls in love with Dorigen. He professes his love for her and she responds saying, "By that same God Who gave me soul and life, Never shall I become an untrue wife" (469). After telling him she would not be unfaithful to her husband, she than consents to be his love, "On that day when, from coasts of Brittany, You've taken all the black rocks, stone by stone So that they hinder ship nor boat-I own, I say, when you have made the coast so clean of rocks that there is no stone to be seen, then will I love you best of any man; take here my promise-all that ever I can" (469-470). Averagus returns to Dorigen and all is wonderful again between the couple, until one day several years later when Aurelius shows up and tells of his success in moving the rocks with the aid of a Philosopher to whom he promised an immense fee, and demands her love. Dorigen is heart broken, not knowing what to do, she finally tells her husband of the impossible task she had imposed upon Aurelius, which had come to be. Averagus steadfast in Dorigen upholding her word to Aurelius sends his beloved wife to keep her word. She finds Aurelius who sees how distraught she is by having been sent by her husband to keep her word, even though he loves her more than any other person on this earth. Impressed with Averagus' action, he sets Dorigen free from her promise. The Philosopher, impressed by Aurelius' action forgives him of his debt. "Arviragus and Dorigen his wife In sovereign happiness led forth their life. Never did any anger come between; He cherished her as if she were a queen; And she to him was true for evermore" (484).

Two years into th

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1947
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English