Chaucer Wife of Bath

will

personal desire/intention, especially sexual desire and self-determined choice

central to the WOB’s argument for female sovereignty

apetite

physical/bodily desire

list/lust

“lust” - pleasure, delight, desire generally (not always sexual, though often is)

“list" = desire, inclination, what one wishes/chooses to do

uses both terms to assert autonomy of pleasure

“That dampned was this knight for to be deed

By cours of lawe, and sholde han lost his heed—

Paraventure, swich was the statut tho—

But that the queene and othere ladies mo

So longe preyeden the king of grace

Til he his lif him graunted in the place

And yaf him to the queene, al at her wille,

To cheese where she wolde him save or spille.” (891–98)

“That this knight was condemned to be dead,
By course of law, and should have lost his head --
Perhaps such was the statute then --
Except that the queen and other ladies as well
So long prayed the king for grace
Until he granted him his life right there,
And gave him to the queen, all at her will,
To choose whether she would him save or put to death.”

grace - God's grace, God's gift or favor; forgiveness

sets up the tale’s premise: a knight commits rape and is condemned by death by law

the mention of “the queene and othere ladies” represents collective female intervention; power shown as communal/collective, not singular

“wille” means the knight's fate now rests on female will/desire, not male law

sets up the knight’s quest: instead of execution, the queen commissions the knight to discover "what wommen moost desiren" — turning his punishment into a trial about female desire

grace

God's grace, God's gift or favor; forgiveness

“I grante thee lif, if thow kanst tellen me

What thing is it that wommen moost desiren” (904–905)

“I grant thee life, if thou canst tell me
What thing it is that women most desire.”

spoken by the queen to the knight

demonstrates central goal of the knight’s quest/punishment for raping the girl'

irony of quest: the knight's crime was ignoring/violating a woman's desire (rape = taking without consent); his path to redemption is learning to ask and value what women desire — the punishment directly answers the crime

“But what! He may nat doon al as him liketh.

And at the laste he chees him for to wende” (914–15)

“But what! He can not do all as he pleases.
And at the last he chose to leave”

direct role reversal: the knight, who violated a woman's will/desire by force, is now himself denied the freedom to do "as him liketh" — he is compelled, constrained, subject to another's judgment (the queen's)

he has lost sovereignty over his life and choices

“He seketh every hous and every place

Whereas he hopeth for to finde grace

To lerne what thing wommen loven moost;

But he ne koude arriven in no coost

Wheras he mighte finde in this matere

Two creatures acording in-feere.

Somme seiden wommen loven best richesse;

Somme seide honour, somme seide jolynesse;

Somme riche array, somme seiden lust abedde,

And ofte time to be widwe and wedde.

Somme seide that oure herte is moost esed

Whan that we been yflatered and yplesed.

(He gooth ful ny the sothe, I wol nat lie!

A man shal winne us best with flaterye;

And with attendaunce and with bisinesse

Been we ylimed, bothe moore and lesse.)

And somme seyen that we loven best

For to be free and do right as us lest,

And that no man repreve us of oure vice” (919–37).

“He seeks every house and every place
Where he hopes to have the luck
To learn what thing women love most,
But he could not arrive in any region
Where he might find in this matter
Two creatures agreeing together.
Some said women love riches best,
Some said honor, some said gaiety,
Some rich clothing, some said lust in bed,
And frequently to be widow and wedded.
Some said that our hearts are most eased
When we are flattered and pleased.
He goes very near the truth, I will not lie.
A man shall win us best with flattery,
And with attentions and with solicitude
We are caught, every one of us.
And some say that we love best
To be free and do just as we please,
And that no man reprove us for our vices”

grace - mercy

free - free

lest - please

told by the Wife of Bath in her tale; the subject is the knight who raped the woman and must pay for his crime

exhaustive list of answers but none of them are correct: richesse (wealth), honour, jolynesse (fun/gaiety), riche array (fine clothes), "lust abedde" (sexual pleasure), being widowed-and-remarried, flattery—satirical, stereotypical “things that women want”

interruption by narrator, Wife of Bath

“Toward the whiche daunce he drow ful yerne,

In hope that som wisdom sholde he lerne” (993–94)

“Toward the which dance he drew very eagerly,
In hope that he should learn some wisdom.”

yerne - eager (desire for wisdom)

subject is the knight as he approaches the mysterious dance of 24 women

frames the dance as a potential source of wisdom, not just information

he remains dedicated to finding the answer to the queen’s request/question

yerne

eager; desire for wisdom

“Wommen desiren to have sovereintee

As wel over hir housbonde as hir love,

And for to been in maistrye him above

This is your mooste desir, thogh ye me kille;

Dooth as yow list; I am at your wille.” (1038–42)

"Women desire to have sovereignty
As well over her husband as her love,
And to be in mastery above him.
This is your greatest desire, though you kill me.
Do as you please; I am here subject to your will."

maistrye - mastery

speaker is the old women that the knight encounters near the dance

conveys the climactic answer word of the entire Tale: sovereignty, supreme authority/rule

Wife's broader argument: sovereignty granted willingly, not seized by force, is what produces genuine love and harmony — a direct rebuke to the knight's original crime (rape = seizing by force) and to controlling husbands generally

“Taak al my good, and lat my body go” (1061)

“Take all my goods and let my body go”

speaker: the knight

subject: the old woman (the hag), who is now claiming her promised reward — marriage to him — after he swore to grant her whatever she asked in return for the life-saving answer

Ironic punishment for a knight who raped a woman

“Ther nas but hevinesse and muche sorwe” (1079)

“There was nothing but heaviness and much sorrow.”

speaker: the WOB

subject: the knight's wedding to the hag — describing the mood of the marriage itself, focalized through the knight's misery

ironic mirroring to the tale’s opening crime of the knight raping the woman—an echo of coerced, undesired intimacy

“Thow art so loothly, and so old also,

And therto comen of so lowe a kinde,

That litel wonder is thogh I walwe and winde” (1100–1103)

“Thou art so loathsome, and so old also,
And moreover descended from such low born lineage,
That little wonder is though I toss and twist about.”

speaker: the knight

subject: the hag/old woman, now his wife

the knight critiques three things: appearance (loothly), age (old), and social class (lowe kinde) — the superficial values (beauty, youth, status) the Tale has been critiquing all along

the knight is unable to see past appearance/birth to actually honor or value her

gentilesse

gentleness, gentility, nobility

“Here may ye se wel how that gentrye

Is nat annexed to possessioun,

Sith folk ne doon hir operacioun

Alwey, as dooth the fir, lo, in his kinde.

For, God it woot, men may wel often finde

A lordes sone do shame and vileinye” (1146–51)

"Here may you see well that nobility
Is not joined with possession,
Since folk not do behave as they should
Always, as does the fire, lo, in its nature.
For, God knows it, men may well often find
A lord's son doing shame and dishonor”

kinde - nature/natural

speaker: the hag

subject: the nature of true "gentrye" (nobility/gentility)

philosophical core of the hag's rebuttal — she shifts the definition of "gentillesse" from inherited status to individual virtue

kinde

nature, essential character, natural habits

“He nis nat gentil, be he duc or erl,

For vileins sinful dedes make a cherl” (1157–58)

“He is not noble, be he duke or earl,
For churlish sinful deeds make a churl.”

cherl - low/base person

speaker: the hag

subject: the true definition of nobility, regardless of title/rank

demolishes the knight's original complaint about her "lowe kinde"

argues that it's not birth that determines "cherl" status, but behavior/deed— arguably the knight (rapist, resentful complainer) whose conduct is closer to "vileinye" than hers

churl

low/base person

“Looke who that is moost vertuous alway,

Privee and apert, and moost entendeth ay

To do the gentil dedes that he kan,

Taak him for the gretteste gentil man.

Crist wole we claime of him oure gentillesse,

Nat of oure eldres, for hir old richesse” (1113–18)

“Look who is most virtuous always,
In private and public, and most intends ever
To do the noble deeds that he can;
Take him for the greatest noble man.
Christ wants us to claim our nobility from him,
Not from our ancestors for their old riches.”

speaker: the hag

argues that it's not enough to seem noble in public; the true test is consistent virtue even unseen, directly implying that titled nobility's public displays of "honor" may be hollow performance

“Thy gentilesse cometh fro God allone.

Thanne comth oure verray gentilesse of grace;

It was nothing biquethe us with oure place” (1162–64)

“Thy nobility comes from God alone.
Then our true nobility comes from grace ;
It was not at all bequeathed to us with our social rank.”

speaker: the hag to the knight

defines gentillesse as a function of grace (something given freely by God and no one else); the hag makes it impossible for it to be tied to bloodline or wealth, closing off any rebuttal from the knight

“But nathelees, sin I knowe youre delit,

I shal fulfille youre worldly appetit.

‘Chees now,’ quod she, ‘oon of thise thinges tweye:

To han me foul and old til that I deye,

And be to yow a trewe humble wif,

And nevere yow displese in al my lif,

Or elles ye wol han me yong and fair,

And take youre aventure of the repair

That shal be to youre hous bicause of me,

Or in som oother place, may wel be.

Now chees yourselven, wheither that yow liketh’” (1217–27)

But nonetheless, since I know your delight,
I shall fulfill your worldly appetite.
“Choose now," she said, "one of these two things:
To have me ugly and old until I die,
And be to you a true, humble wife,
And never displease you in all my life,
Or else you will have me young and fair,
And take your chances of the crowd
That shall be at your house because of me,
Or in some other place, as it may well be.
Now choose yourself, whichever you please."

speaker: the hag to the knight, offering him a final choice

choice is a trap/test in disguise: both options offer him control/certainty based on his judgment (old-faithful vs. young-risky) — accepting either would mean he's still operating within a mindset of ranking and controlling women by fixed categories (appearance, guaranteed behavior)

“My lady and my love, and wif so deere,

I putte me in youre wise governance;

Cheseth youreself which may be moost plesaunce,

And moost honour to yow and me also.

I do no fors the wheither of the two,

For as yow liketh, it suffiseth me” (1230–35)

"My lady and my love, and wife so dear,
I put me in your wise governance;
Choose yourself which may be most pleasure
And most honor to you and me also.
I do not care which of the two,
For as it pleases you, is enough for me."

speaker: the knight to the hag

the knight who took a woman's body/will by force at the Tale's opening now voluntarily and completely surrenders his own will to a woman's — poetic justice fully realized

proof of WOB’s central argument that marriages succeed when husbands yield "maistrye" to wives

‘Thanne have I gete of yow maistrye,’ quod she,

‘Sin I may chese and governe as me lest?’

‘Ye, certes, wif,’ quod he, ‘I holde it best’” (1236–38)

"Then have I gotten mastery of you," she said,
"Since I may choose and govern as I please?"
“Yes, certainly, wife," he said, "I consider it best."

dialogue exchange between the hag/wife and the knight

the knight is letting the hag/his wife choose how she wants to be/appear, which demonstrates that he has finally given up his will to her and allowed her mastery

“‘Kis me,’ quod she, ‘we be no lenger wrothe,

For, by my trouthe, I wol be to yow bothe –

This is to seyn, ye, bothe fair and good’” (1239–41)

"Kiss me," she said, "we are no longer angry,
For, by my troth, I will be to you both --
This is to say, yes, both fair and good.

speaker: the hag/the knight’s wife

subject: her promise of transformation

“by my trouthe”—the woman is pledging her word/fidelity/honor

“And she obeyed him in every thing

That mighte doon him plesance or liking” (1255-56)

“And she obeyed him in every thing
That might do him pleasure or enjoyment.”

‘she’ is the knight’s wife

use of the word ‘obeyed’ and ‘plesance’ contradicts the point of the tale; argues for sovereignty and mastery in marriage yet describes her obedience to him

“But yet I hadde alwey a coltes tooth.

Gat-toothed I was, and that bicam me weel;

I hadde the preente of Seinte Venus seel.

As help me God, I was a lusty oon,

And fair, and riche, and yong, and wel bigoon!

And trewely, as mine housbondes tolde me,

I hadde the beste quoniam mighte be.

For certes, I am al Venerien

In feeling, and min herte is Marcien.

Venus me yaf my lust, my likerousnesse,

And Mars yaf me my sturdy hardinesse;” (602–612)

But yet I had always a colt's tooth.
With teeth set wide apart I was, and that became me well;
I had the print of Saint Venus's seal.
As help me God, I was a lusty one,
And fair, and rich, and young, and well fixed,
And truly, as my husbands told me,
I had the best pudendum that might be. 
For certainly, I am all influenced by Venus
In feeling, and my heart is influenced by Mars.
Venus me gave my lust, my amorousness,
And Mars gave me my sturdy boldness;

speaker: the wife of bath

subject: her own sexuality, temperament, and self-understanding

he Wife's self-authored astrological/physiognomic portrait — she narrates it herself, knowingly, and proudly, removing the narrator's irony entirely

sexually appetitive (Venus) and dominant/combative in marriage (Mars) — directly foreshadowing both her sexual history (five husbands) and her fights for "sovereintee"/"maistrye"

sets up the Tale's thesis: a woman who is Venus-and-Mars — desirous and dominant — argues (through her Tale) that this nature deserves not suppression but sovereignty

“And thus they live unto hir lives ende

In parfit joye—and Jesu Crist us sende

Housbondes meke, yonge, and fressh abedde,

And grace t’overbide hem that we wedde” (1257–60)

And thus they live unto their lives' end
In perfect joy; and Jesus Christ us send
Husbands meek, young, and vigorous in bed,
And grace to outlive them whom we wed;

subject: the knight and his transformed wife's happy ending, pivoting into the Wife's own personal wish for herself and women generally

a final comic, pointed reversal: taking the standards used to control/judge women and turning them back on men