As I finished The Wife of Bath's Tale, I immediately had to re-read it. Even translated into modern day english I found I had to double back to understand what had taken place. Now, I will admit I'm still working through the middle english version...that's some rough language.
I can't believe that the knight, who completely disregarded his knightly code of honor and committed such a disgusting act, still got "redemption". Not to mention his wife went all Hocus Pocus and suddenly the ugly crusty woman he forced himself to marry is now beautiful and everything is peachy. Yeah, he really learned his lesson.
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This knight, someone who is supposed to be widely respected and trusted, violated a girl in the worst way possible. But it's okay cause the fairy queen-lady-thing gave him a good talking-to so he totally learned what he did was a no-no. Seriously? Even if the queen decided to send him on this impossible task(seemingly impossible at the time) I would still argue she should have let the guy die. Forever.
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Another issue I had with this particular little tale is when the hag told the knight her ugliness should be a security to him. “Don’t worry, the fact I’m ugly means I’m less likely to cheat on you.” Are we really going there right now? Did I really just read that? How about the knight made a promise to do whatever you want, a situation he got himself into in the first place, and whether or not he likes you he should honor that promise. OH WAIT! He raped a girl so I can see how she would worry he might cheat, but never ever should a girl think of herself like that. Even if she is a fairy queen who totally and completely knows what she is doing by manipulating the entire story, it still infuriated me.
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So, do I think he really learned his lesson after the really long sermon? Not really. I’m curious if anyone did. Even still, should the hag have transformed herself into a younger woman in despite of his crime? Maybe. I don’t believe he deserved it, he violated everything knights stand for: chivalry, honor, respect. He ignored all of them just to satisfy himself. I wonder what people thought of this story when it was written...would they agree or disagree with what we are saying now?
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Oooooooooooh. My inner history major really wants to travel back in time and talk to someone about this now that you've said something about it. That's a good question.
ReplyDeleteI'll admit right off the bat that I'm a huge advocate of mercy, even to people who don't deserve it, to the point of being a bit of a pushover. Still I think you make a good point about whether the knight learns his lesson after the sermon. I think he does, since he gives power to the "hag lady," but I don't think it should have been that easy. He gets to sweat for a year while he's on his quest, but some sort of true, repentance-inducing terror would have been nice. Chaucer just seems to gloss over it.
GREAT question! I would love to hear what people had to say about this story. Women especially.
ReplyDeleteAgain, I find myself agreeing, yet also disagreeing with our partner Sam :). I think mercy is a good thing. A good thing, indeed. But, given that this is a story, I think I was expecting/desiring a harsher punishment. And because I cannot change this story now, I'd like to focus on my favorite part of your blog instead: ugliness and faithfulness.
I too, am appalled by the theory that having an ugly companion ensures faithfulness. What bologna! She is a smart woman. Yes, somewhat crusty, as you mentioned earlier, but so smart. She knows what the Queen wants to hear, she knows how to get what she wants, and she knows what is important to find in someone's character. Yet, she stoops down to this knight's level. She allows herself to be treated unfairly just because he did not give a straight-forward answer. I think he could have eventually learned his lesson, but I don't think she was patient enough to assure that would happen.
Yo, beauty standards have been rough forever. I mean, we are in the year 2015 and The DUFF is an actual movie and was actually made. Holy shit. Honestly, as much as it sucks, I totally agree with the hag. Is it right? Hell no, but people don't mess with ugly as severely as they mess with pretty. I think it'd be ridiculous if she tried to make the argument that beauty doesn't matter to this knight in particular since he's a rapist. While rape is about power, he surely wasn't raping the young woman because she was smart and he needed to physically prove that he was better but because he felt entitled to her body.
ReplyDeleteThe knight, WHO IS ON A QUEST ON PAIN OF DEATH, is still of the mind that he deserves a pretty and loyal woman up until he's at the end of his rope with this woman. He's traveled for a year and through it all he still upholds beauty over anything else.