One of the main functions of literature written during the Middle Ages is to represent the value system and culture of that time period. With The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer does just this. Through the various tales told by the travelers on their pilgrimage to and from the tomb of Thomas a ‘Becket, the reader gets insight on the social theory, class boundaries, and value systems of the age in which it is set. One issue that Chaucer deals frequently with is the idea of what an ideal wife should or should not be. In both the Franklin’s tale and the Clerk’s tale, the reader is presented with two women, Griselda and Dorigen, who exemplify the characteristics which an ideal Medieval wife should depict. With the Franklin’s tale of the larger Canterbury Tales, Chaucer characterizes the ideal Medieval wife through Dorigen, the main woman of the story.
When the reader first meets her, she is described as being a “lady in the highest wise” (3) and “the fairest under [the] sun” (6).
Out of pity she agrees to take an honorable knight to be her husband, thereby lowering her social status, and vows to be forever a faithful wife and lover to him. Together they have a happy and prosperous marriage overflowing with trust and respect. Being a knight, though, Dorigen’s husband is often traveling. During these periods of separation, Dorigen “mourn[s], watch[s], wail[s], she fast[s] and complain[s]” (91) for her husband’s swift and safe return to her, much as a noble wife should. On one such occasion, however, a young squire pledges his loyalty to her if only she consents to be his lover.
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To this, Dorigen, in jest, responds thus: Aurelius… by God above, Yet would I well consent to be your love, Since I hear you complain so piteously, 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. (261-70) Dorigen’s dedication and love of her husband is so great that she will say anything to have him return home sooner, which removing the rocks would ensue. Therefore, her response to Aurelius is rooted in her desire for her husband. The fact that she promises herself to another man doesn’t bother her because she knows man is incapable of removing all the stones from the shoreline. Hence, she believes her promise is empty.
Unfortunately, with the help of sorcery, Aurelius successfully clears the shore of all the stones, leaving Dorigen with a tough decision. She can either, fulfill her promise and dishonor her husband, or she can stay true to her husband and break her promise. In those days, a broken promise meant shame on the entire family. For a lady to shield her family from such shame, especially in response to having engaged in an affair, she is to commit suicide. Consequently, in order to maintain her position as a loyal wife, Dorigen struggles over whether or not she should kill herself. Unable to commit the act with complete certainty, she turns her life over to her husband.
Being a noble knight, he “bid[s] her [to] keep [her] promise” (790) so “[t]hat folk no harm may think of [her], or guess” (758).
In the end, Dorigen receives forgiveness of fidelity from Aurelius and returns to her loving husband as pure as when she left. Chaucer leads the reader to believe that, if Dorigen had not been dedicated to being an honorable and loyal wife to her husband and solely dependent on him, then the outcome of the story would not have been as forgiving. The reason that Dorigen is released from her promise and able to maintain fidelity with her husband is that she clearly exemplified characteristics of an ideal wife. Not only does she strive to please her husband in all ways imaginable, but she also yearns for him when they are separated and honors the decisions he makes for her life, even if it means death. These are qualities, from Chaucer’s perspective, that men of the Middle Ages desired in a wife.
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Griselda of the Clerk’s tale is also used by Chaucer to exemplify the characteristics of an ideal Medieval wife. The reader’s first introduction to Griselda shines light on her existence and personality. One learns of Griselda that: If one should speak of virtuous beauty, Then is she of the fairest under [the] sun; Since fostered in dire poverty is she, No lust luxurious in her heart had run; More often from the well than from the tun She drank, and since she would chaste virtue please, She knew work well, but knew not idle ease. (158-64) Although Walter, the man who chooses her to be his wife, is a wealthy marquis, Griselda’s beauty and virtues help to mask her poverty and enhance her devotion to him. Regrettably for Griselda, Walter is a horrible husband toward her. About a month after their first child is born, “[t]his marquis in his heart such longing bore/ [t]o test his wife, her patience thus to know” (400-1).
Being a powerful leader, he sends a trustworthy servant to take the child from Griselda under the implications that the child is to be slain by his orders. Being “born and bred in humbleness” (344), Griselda subserviently allows this to occur, telling her husband that she and the child, “with hearty obeisance, / are all [his], and [he] may save [them] or kill/ [t]hat which is [his]” (451-3).
Unbeknownst to her, the child is not slain, but sent to be raised in the noble household of Walter’s sister and brother-in-law. Afterwards, Griselda happily continues in her marriage to Walter and obediently does as he wishes of her. He still remains, however, unsatisfied with her display of patience.
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For this reason, when their second child is born, he again has it taken from Griselda, deceiving her to again believe that he is to be killed. As a sign of her fortitude, she suffers this trial with as much patience as with her first child, which greatly disheartens Walter the more, especially since he wants nothing more than to find her impatient. Therefore, another test is given her, but this time of a different nature. Walter tells Griselda that he no longer desires her as his wife and that his “new wife journeys hither on her way” (758).
Desiring to consistently fulfill her husbands every whim, she patiently agrees to nullify their marriage and return to whence she came bodily naked. “Thus with her father, for a certain space, / [d]id dwell this flower of wifely meek patience” (871-2) until she is asked to help with the preparations for Walter’s wedding, which she humbly agrees to do.
As a result of Griselda’s outstanding constant display of humble patience, a virtue which every Medieval wife should possess, she is reunited with her children and humbly regains her wifely status at Walter’s facade of a wedding. Some characteristics which an ideal Medieval wife should possess, as seen from Chaucer’s perspective, are presented through two women, Griselda and Dorigen, in the Franklin’s tale and the Clerk’s tale of the larger Canterbury Tales. The decisions and choices these ladies make and their relationships with their husbands show that an ideal wife living during the Middle Ages should not only be wholeheartedly loyal to her husband and subservient to his decisions and every desire, but also display constant humility and patience.
