Reading Notes: Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, Part A

I have previously read, I think, one story from the Canterbury Tales, but I don't remember it at all. It would have been a long time ago and I think it could be interesting to read something that I read as a child. In the first story, "The Wife of Bath's Tale," a knight is sent by the Queen to figure out what women wish for the most in order to spare his own life. Many of the answers are very typical of women in medieval times, but I think that I could make this into a modern day story. What I plan to write about is a modern day boy who is given the task, for some reason, to find out what women wish for the most. The answers from all of the girls will be cliches, except for the real wish. I could also tie this into the topic of feminism because that is a very important topic amongst society currently. Women are expected to want stereotypical things, like children, makeup, or money, but in current society, women are achieving standards that no man would have deemed possible in the past. An old woman told him that the thing women desired the most was to rule over their husbands. All the women agreed, which is a very unlikely answer nowadays, and his life was spared; however, in return, the knight had to grant the old woman a wish and she wanted to be his wife. He was unhappy at first, but then when he accepted his fate, the hag turned into a beautiful young woman and they lived happily ever after. I want to change my story to include a more modern answer to this mysterious question.


An example of sexual prejudice against women in advertising, 1950s.

"Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer.