10/27 Canterbury Tales (9a)

Wife of Bath
According to the tale of "The Wife of Bath," women want companionship and love with a man rather than sex or gossip. In the tale, a knight seeks to learn what women want most after he is tasked by the queen to do so. He asks around the country and gets answers including sex, wealth, and secrets (1751). However, a women cannot keep a secret as seen from Greek writings and are not comforted by getting them. After the knight marries an older woman, he treats her poorly and she confesses the true want of women. She would feel like a noblewoman when she lives "in virtue and [casts] out sin" (1755). She wanted respect and the freedom to live according to virtue from her husband.