Marriage, Mutual Consent, and the Affirmation of the Female Subject in the Knight's Tale, the Wife of Bath's Tale, and the Franklin's Tale

Author / Editor
Robertson, Elizabeth.

Title
Marriage, Mutual Consent, and the Affirmation of the Female Subject in the Knight's Tale, the Wife of Bath's Tale, and the Franklin's Tale

Published
Wendy Harding, ed. Drama, Narrative and Poetry in The Canterbury Tales (Toulouse: Presses Universitaires du Mirail, 2003), pp. 175-93.

Description
Robertson considers KnT, WBT, and FranT in the light of contemporary marital law, Christian doctrine, and the question of mutual consent to marriage. Chaucer's profound interest in the legitimacy of the female subject is a subset of his larger interest in the nature of free will, choice, and autonomy.

Alternative Title
Drama, Narrative and Poetry in The Canterbury Tales.

Chaucer Subjects
Knight and His Tale.
Wife of Bath and Her Tale.
Franklin and His Tale.