Part twenty-five: l.1219 'Chese now' - l.1264 'God sende hem'

Synopsis of l.1219-1264

The magical transformation

The Old Woman offers the Knight a choice. He can have her old and ugly until she dies, but a true and humble wife, or he can have a young, beautiful wife and take his chance against the visitors who will come to the house (and other places) in pursuit of her. The Knight puts himself under his wife's governance and asks her to choose which will bring more honour and pleasure to them both. He agrees to be happy with her choice.

The Old Woman acknowledges that he has given ‘maistrye' (mastery) to her and asks him to kiss her, promising that she will be both physically attractive and a good wife. He is invited to pull up the bed hangings. He sees a beautiful young bride whom he takes in his arms with joy. They live happily ever after.

The Wife of Bath ends her account with a plea to Christ to send women fresh, young husbands, and to shorten the lives of dominating, niggardly husbands.

Commentary on l.1219-1264

The choice the Old Woman offers the knight plays to the misogynistic fears which the male statements in the Prologue illustrated – that any beautiful woman cannot be trusted to remain faithful (e.g. l.253-5).

l.1228 This knyght avyseth hym and sore siketh: The Knight's reaction is a repetition of his original response to the quest (l.913), which adds to the tension as to what he will say this time.

l.1231-2 I put me in youre wise governance; / Cheseth yourself: The Knight's decision reflects what the Wife desired from her own marriages (l.813-14, 820).

l.1236 maistrye: The Old Woman has achieved dominance, although she surrenders it to the Knight. How far does this aspect of the culmination of the tale parallel the Wife's achievement at the end of her Prologue (see l.813-25)?

l.1243-4 good and trewe / As evere was wyf, syn that the world was newe: The Old Woman redresses the medieval Church's depiction of Eve as the source of humanity's ills (see l.715-17) by envisaging the original perfection of the first woman in God's new creation, before the Fall. Genesis 1:27-31.

l.1235, 1248 For as yow liketh, it suffiseth me … / … deth right as yow lest: Again Chaucer echoes the sentiments that characterised the Wife's desires in the Prologue (see l.318-19, 820).

l.1249 Cast up the curtyn: Chaucer now introduces an additional element of tension by indicating that the Old Woman has been concealed by the bed hangings that were typical in draughty medieval lodgings. The idea of the curtain helps us to believe in the moment of transformation and perhaps represents a form of wish-fulfilment for the Wife of Bath.

l.1252-3 For joye he hente hire in his armes two, / His herte bathed in a bath of blisse: The physical exuberance of the Knight is a dramatic contrast to his original reaction to his bride and perhaps reflects the Wife's own lusty nature. Chaucer draws on the tradition of alliterative poetry, repeating the H and B sounds for emphasis.

l.1257 And thys they lyve unto hir lyves ende / In parfit joye: The Tale has the traditional ‘happy ever after' ending of a fairy tale.

Investigating l.1219-1264

What is the significance of the kiss, a speechless moment (l.1239)?
Who, in your view, triumphs more at the end of the tale: the Old Woman who has gained ‘maistrye' by l. 1236? OR the Knight, to whom that ‘maistrye' is surrendered?
Read the last 15 lines of the tale and consider the contrast between the language of the description of the happy couple e.g. ‘joye', ‘blisse', ‘kisse', ‘plesance' AND the language of the Wife's ending e.g. ‘t‘overbyde', ‘governed', ‘olde', ‘angry, ‘pestilence'.
What are the effects of the Wife's final lines? For example:
- Are they just a clumsy device for asserting the narrator's voice?
- Are they a curse which undercuts the romance of the tale?
- Is normal combat resumed?
- Or …..?

English Standard Version
King James Version

¹In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. ²The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. ³And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. ⁴And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. ⁵God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. ⁶And God said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters. ⁷And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. ⁸And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. ⁹And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear. And it was so. ¹⁰God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. ¹¹And God said, Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth. And it was so. ¹²The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ¹³And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. ¹⁴And God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, ¹⁵and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth. And it was so. ¹⁶And God made the two great lights - the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night - and the stars. ¹⁷And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, ¹⁸to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. ²⁰And God said, Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens. ²¹So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²²And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth. ²³And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. ²⁴And God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds - livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds. And it was so. ²⁵And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²⁶Then God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. ²⁷So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. ²⁸And God blessed them. And God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth. ²⁹And God said, Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. ³⁰And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food. And it was so. ³¹And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

¹In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. ²And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. ³And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. ⁴And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. ⁵And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. ⁶And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. ⁷And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. ⁸And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. ⁹And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. ¹⁰And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. ¹¹And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. ¹²And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. ¹³And the evening and the morning were the third day. ¹⁴And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: ¹⁵And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. ¹⁶And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. ¹⁷And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, ¹⁸And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. ¹⁹And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. ²⁰And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. ²¹And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. ²²And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. ²³And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. ²⁴And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. ²⁵And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. ²⁶And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. ²⁷So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. ²⁸And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. ²⁹And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. ³⁰And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. ³¹And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

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The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale Contents