Marry, Cook, Breed. Repeat.

"Of five husbands' schooling am I.

45 Welcome the sixte, whan that evere he shal.

Welcome the sixth, whenever he shall appear.

46 For sothe, I wol nat kepe me chaast in al.

For truly, I will not keep myself chaste in everything.

47 Whan myn housbonde is fro the world ygon,

When my husband is gone from the world,

48 Som Cristen man shal wedde me anon,

Some Christian man shall wed me straightway,

49 For thanne th' apostle seith that I am free

For then the apostle says that I am free

50 To wedde, a Goddes half, where it liketh me.

To wed, by God's side (I swear), wherever it pleases me.

51 He seith that to be wedded is no synne;

He says that to be wedded is no sin;

52 Bet is to be wedded than to brynne."

It is better to be wedded than to burn."

One humorous film I have seen is My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which tells of a traditional Greek Orthodox family with their customs somewhat exaggerated. The most emphasized ideology is the following: Females' raison d'être is to "marry good Greek men, cook good Greek food, and make many Greek babies." The entire film's events are developed around the breaching of such a psychorigid mentality. In the same way, the prologue of Chaucer's The Wife of Bath's Tale is narrated by a woman who, after being schooled in the art being a good wife, has rebelled to become a brutal spouse:

"As help me God, I laughe whan I thynke

"So help me God, I laugh when I think

202 How pitously a-nyght I made hem swynke!

How pitifully at night I made them work!

203 And, by my fey, I tolde of it no stoor.

And, by my faith, I set no store by it.

204 They had me yeven hir lond and hir tresoor;

They had given me their land and their treasure;

205 Me neded nat do lenger diligence

I needed not work hard any longer

206 To wynne hir love, or doon hem reverence.

To win their love, or do them reverence.

207 They loved me so wel, by God above,

They loved me so well, by God above,

208 That I ne tolde no deyntee of hir love!

That I reckoned little of their love!

209 A wys womman wol bisye hire evere in oon

A wise woman will be constantly busy

210 To gete hire love, ye, ther as she hath noon.

To get their love, yes, when she has none.

211 But sith I hadde hem hoolly in myn hond,

But since I had them wholly in my hand,

212 And sith they hadde me yeven al hir lond,

And since they had me given all their land,

213 What sholde I taken keep hem for to plese,

Why should I take care to please them,

214 But it were for my profit and myn ese?"

Unless it were for my profit and my pleasure?"Every time one of her five husbands attempted to repress her, she

"...folwed ay my dames loore,

"...followed always my mother's teaching,

584 As wel of this as of othere thynges moore."

As well in this as in other things more."

In her prologue, she reveals repressed feelings, previously unknown (or ignored) by men. This information should prove valuable to a man who wants to be a good spouse, even if he thinks he already is one:

"We love no man that taketh kep or charge

"We love no man who takes notice or concern about

322Wher that we goon; we wol ben at oure large."

Where we go; we will be free (to do as we wish)."

According to the Wife of Bath, women feel especially repressed when they feel they

387 "...koude pleyne, and yit was in the gilt,

"...could complain, and yet was in the wrong,

388 Or elles often tyme hadde I been spilt."

Or else many times had I been ruined."

While I believe that men often joke about this subject, I do not believe that the average husband feels so negatively of his wife as the Wife of Bath believes it to be:

371 "Thou liknest eek wommenes love to helle,

"Thou also compare women's love to hell,

372 To bareyne lond, ther water may nat dwelle.

To barren land, where water may not remain.

373 Thou liknest it also to wilde fyr;

Thou compare it also to Greek (inextinguishable) fire;

374 The moore it brenneth, the moore it hath desir

The more it burns, the more it has desire

375 To consume every thyng that brent wole be.

To consume every thing that will be burned.

376 Thou seyest, right as wormes shende a tree,

Thou sayest, just as worms destroy a tree,

377 Right so a wyf destroyeth hire housbonde;

Right so a wife destroys her husband;

378 This knowe they that been to wyves bonde.'"

This know they who are bound to wives.'"

It may also be the case, that in the time that the Canterbury Tales were written, that the entire marriage institution was based on a different set of values than it is today. If this were the case, then not only would the Wife of Bath be very satisfied living in 2010, but Chaucer would have something else to write about; the transformation of marriage through time. However, one time-resistant truth which men often try hard to ignore is that women rarely appreciate being corrected by their husbands. Nobody enjoys being told their faults by others, for that matter.

659 "But al for noght, I sette noght an hawe

But all for nothing, I gave not a hawthorn berry

660 Of his proverbes n' of his olde sawe,

For his proverbs nor for his old sayings,

661 Ne I wolde nat of hym corrected be.

Nor would I be corrected by him.

662 I hate hym that my vices telleth me,

I hate him who tells me my vices,

663 And so doo mo, God woot, of us than I.

And so do more of us, God knows, than I."

After reading the Prologue of the Wife of Bath, I have come to the conclusion that while not as radical today, the repression women kindles deep sentiments, which may cause extreme personalities such as that of the Wife of Bath.