Marriage In The Canterburry Ta

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leaves his wife alone in their home, along with the monk. With the merchant never once questioning their honor, the wife and the monk take advantage of his leave in order to consummate their relationship. Although later the wife almost gets caught, ultimately her husband never learns that his wife has lied in anyone's "arms all night" (Chaucer, 165) that weren't his and the merchant is seen as a blind fool. The relationships in this tale are all defined, at least in part, in terms of finances:
“The wife defines her relationship with her husband at the beginning in terms of his niggardliness, and offers her body at the end in repayment of the hundred francs; she offers herself to Daun John in return for money”(Cooper, 281).
The selling of one’s own body does not seem to be very important within the context of this tale. Instead, it is perceived as another way of making money. This can be seen because, “The merchant is not jealous; he gives his wife ...

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he can not see that he has lost his power in the relationship. Though he tries to remain dominant by forcing May to stay by his side, she is eventually able to cheat on him and get away with it. Because of his loss of sight, he becomes extremely worried that his wife might cuckold him, so he forces her to remain with him all the time. Nevertheless, she soon gets upset at her husband's jealousy and decides to have an affair with the young and handsome Damian. She concocts a plan whereby she would be able to embrace her lover while within reach of her husband. Once the plan finally unfolds and May is in Damian's arm, December suddenly regains his vision. The first thing he sees is ...

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