Solution: why Chaucer disagrees with the Franklin.

Abstract

The marriage group of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is made up of four tales told by the Wife of Bath, Clerk, Merchant and Franklin. It is generally thought that The Franklin's Tale provides the solution to the debate over what makes a happy marriage because it is the last of the marriage tales. What this essay will show is that Chaucer's solution is very different from the Franklin's solution of shared mastery between man and wife. Chaucer proposes a movement towards community and affinities instead by queering characters and marriages within The Canterbury Tales and creating the community of traveling pilgrims. A slightly more liberal and progressive side of this famous medieval poet will be seen in this paper.