Many tales in the Canterbury Tales make some comment about marriage. These comments offer different perspectives of marital relationships. The Wife of Bath expresses a marriage can be happy only after a woman has gained complete sovereignty over her husband. The Clerk reveals an opposite view in his tale of a totally submissive and obedient wife. Marriage portrayed in the Franklin's tale is something in between the extremes of the Wife of Bath and the Clerk. The Franklin, on the surface, presents an idealized view of marriage.
             Although most of her arguments are presented in her extensive prologue, The Wife of Bath's tale exemplifies her position that women seek dominance in marriage. In the tale, a knight rapes a woman. To escape being hung, his punishment is that he must find out what it is that women most desire. He discovers from an old ugly women that, "Wommen desiren to have sovereynetee/ As wel over hir housband as hir love,/ And for to been in maistrie hym above" (l 1038-1040). The knight is then forced by the queen to uphold his promise to the old woman and marry her. When he is given the choice between having his wife ugly and faithful or beautiful and unfaithful, he lets her decide what is best for the both of them: "I put me in your youre wise governance;/ Cheseth youreself which may be moost plesance/ And moost honour to yow and me also" (l1231-1233). By saying this, the knight has allowed his wife complete sovereignty over him and he finds that she will become both beautiful and faithful. Thus, illustrating the Wife of Bath's view of marriage in which the wife is dominant. The Clerk's tale is an indirect response to the Wife of Bath's.
             The Clerk offers the opposite view of marriage in which women are submissive to their husbands. Before marring Walter, Griselda agrees to be subservient to his demand that she,
             "be ye redy with good herte/ To al my lust, and that I frely may,/ As me best thynketh, do yow laughe or ...