Chaucers Canterbury Tales Essay - Marriage in The Wife of Baths Pro

Marriage in Geoffrey Chaucers The Wife of Baths Prologue and TaleThe disparity in the outcomes of the hags marriage and Alisons marriages in Geoffrey Chaucers The Wife of Baths Prologue and Tale depends in part on the womens differing expectations of their husbands. The hags modus agendi depends on a knights obligation to honour his pledge, whereas Alisons modus operandi depends on her husbands conduct after marriage, i.e. on her circumstances. Having saved the knights life, the hag asks the knight to permit her to be his wife. Moreover, she wants to be his love. The knight must marry, since marrying the hag lies within his might. Since the hags definition of being his wife includes her loving him, he is duty-bound to tolerate the hags love. Her love for him requires he read compassion to her. Perforce of her line of reasoning of the advantages of being married to her, he accepts her sovereignty to have her will. The chains of her enchantment broken, the hag turns beautiful in the k nights eyes. He falls in love with her, and she realizes the right to rule in he...