Consequently, learning this lesson from experience, the WB tells a tale that demonstrates a fairytale ending, “happy ever after”, when the knight adheres to the old hags advice. The tale that the WB shares repeats on a larger scale the pattern of surrender and reconciliation which is traced in miniature form at the end of her Prologue. It begins with a manifestation of masculine “maistrye” in its most gruesome form: the knight’s casual rape of a young maiden. It ends with the rapist’s humble surrender of “maistrye” to the old wife. As Mann states, “Male surrender leads not only to marital peace and harmony, but also to the magical transformation of the ugly old hag into a beautiful young wife. Miraculous as it is, this transformation is no whit more miraculous than the transformation of a rapist into a meekly submissive husband” (70). At first the knight only repeats the answer the old hag gave him to the queen to save his life. “My lige lady, generally,” quod he, / “Wommen desiren to have soveraynetee/ As wel over hir housbond as hir love, / And for to been in maistrie hym above (lines 1037-40). On the contrary, his punishment is not concluded, although he saved his life. His life comes with a debt, an amount at first that seemingly cost more than the death sentence, wedlock to an old hag. This sentencing of knight to adhere to his word and marry the old hag is rape in reverse and therefore putting the knight in the position more familiar to women, who have to cater to males desires all the time. The knight at this point shows no sign of redemption. The old hag gives the knight a test to see what he has learned. She gives him a choice of her to either stay ugly and faithful or to become beautiful and unfaithful. The knight passes the test when he gives the authority to the hag to decide for him. The transformation of the old hag into a beautiful, faithful wife argues against the medieval anti-feminist teaching that WB argues in her Prologue, that faithful wives can only be those that are ugly.

In closing, I want to revisit the debate I alluded to in the opening of this paper. Scholars have been divided into two irreconcilable camps on Chaucer’s intentions of the WB. One set of critics who argue that Chaucer intends us to take seriously the WB’s defense on women against their clerical attackers and finds a plausible defense of women against the misogamy that were so prevalent in medieval culture. While other critics argue that the wife does not provide a refutation of medieval stereotypes of women but is herself exactly what the clerical attackers warn against. “The debate thus comes down to the problem of who is speaking in the WB’s Prologue: is it quite certain that the Wife is the mouthpiece for Chaucer’s own views or is there a gap between the Wife’s discourse and Chaucer’s own voice…” (Rigby 134). The WB ask this same question, “Who peyntede the leon, tel me who? / By God! If women hadde written stories, / As clerkes han withinne hire oratories, / They wolde han written of men moore wikkednesse / Than al the mark of Adam may redresse.” (lines 692-96). Rigby seems to argue that our sympathy with her views today can often lead us to neglect the gap that exist (153). I disagree with Rigby even though it appear at first glance that Chaucer is being ironic, in having the WB defend herself against accusations which her speech and behavior prove. Other pilgrims do this too, especially the Monk and the Friar. It seems Chaucer’s aim in presenting a character with such negative qualities that she approaches caricature, is to show how dangerous such women can be, and to warn men against marrying, as we see the Pardoner takes this warning. However, the language Chaucer has her speak is not that of right and wrong, it is that of total amorality and self-service. The Wife does not pretend to better behavior, nor does she accuse anyone else of sinning, and so we can’t accuse her

Some topics in this essay:
Jankyn WB, Abraham Jacob, Canterbury Biebel, Jankyn Chaucer, Prologue Wife, Canterbury Tales, Wife Bath, Mann Chaucer, Taking Biebel’s, Margaret Hallissy, gender roles, defense women, critics argue, canterbury tales, gender role, prescribed gender roles, woman chaucer, jankyn wb, monk friar, medieval woman, biebel 64, wb’s defense women, medieval woman chaucer,