In Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, Franklin's Tale and The Wife of Bath's Tale represent marriage in different ways. The most obvious contrast is the role of power in relationships in the two stories and for the two narrators. The Franklin believes in reciprocity and equality. His ideal of marriage is a binding and official contract that makes partners equal to each other. The Wife of Bath sees marriage as an inevitable power struggle. The assumption that a partner in a union will have more control is at the heart of both his story and the stories of his past relationships. These different ideas about marriage fit well with the characteristics of the narrator, as is provided to the reader in a brief description of Franklin in The General Prologue and in the extensive discussion of marriage and the love of the Wife of Bath in his prologue. Among the countless subtle differences and similarities between the two stories, ideas about power are clearly important and entirely appropriate. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Franklin's idea of ​​contract is made clear in many instances in his narrative. Binding contracts, agreements and promises are found throughout the tale. The professional language used to describe Arveragus courting Dorigen is an example of this. The words "serve", (Franklin's Tale, l.59) "business" (Franklin's Tale, l.59) and "work" (Franklin's Tale, l.60) all appear in the first lines of the story, subtly establishing the nature of their relationship. In the end, Dorigen chooses to accept his hand "...that is to say for his meek [obedience]," (Franklin's Tale, l. 67) and takes him for "...hir housbonde and his lord" ( Franklin's Tale, l. 70). The courtship came and went with more office language than romance. Later, the Franklin carefully explains the roles of marriage with "So he took his servant and his lord--/ Servant in love and lord in marriage./ Thanne was both in lordship and servitude./ Servage? No, but in lordship above,/ Sith hath both his woman and his love" (Franklin's Tale, l. 124). The repetition used here not only reinforces the language of business like Franklin's terms, but also neutralizes the power relationship by presenting the paradox of being both master and servant. The importance of equality in the marriage contract is extremely clear in many other places in the world. Franklin's love story. Soon after Dorigen agrees to marry, Arveragus makes her his equal rather than simply the woman he loves. He chooses, "Of his own free will," to "swear to take as knight / That never in all his life he day and night / Nor sholde upon him never take maistrye" (Franklin's Tale, ll. 73-75). It is essential that this affirmation comes after the engagement. It is marriage that necessarily makes them equal. Franklin goes even further in asserting the importance of mutual agreement, momentarily moving away from the plot of his story to talk about his views on marriage:Per oo thing, sires, saufly dar I saye:That [lovers] [each] other [they must] obey, if they want to have long company. Love will not be bound by maistrye: When maistrye comes, the God of love anoonBeteth his wings and farewell, it's goon! Love is a thing like any free spirit; Women of kinde eager to be libertarian, and not be forced like a [slave] And so do men, if I may say "shal". (Franklin's Tale, ll.89-98) By suddenly inserting the word "I" into his narrative, Franklin draws attention to the lines that follow. He signals to his audience the importance of this lack of mastery in maintaining lovelong enough to make it marriage. This is a crucial distinction. It is reiterated later, at the end of his story. Aurelius, who did not share mutual love with Dorigen, can never win her heart from Arveragus, his equal. The Wife of Bath contradicts Franklin's depiction of marriage in the story he tells. The most obvious differences are the opposite ideas of the place of "maistrye" in a relationship. In this story, power is not avoided in love, but is instead the one thing universally desired by women. This idea is the central lesson of the tale and the very opposite of Franklin's ideal of equality. The Knight's Wife of Bath explains the concept of power to her Queen as "Women wish to have sovereigns / As above their housbonde as their love, / And to be in maistrye him above" (Wife of Bath's Tale, ll .1044 1046) . Like the Franklin, the Wife of Bath distinguishes this concept. It presents itself as wisdom strong enough to be worth a man's life and also provides a solution to the Knight's search for the truth. Whichever partner gains dominance, a marriage involves power relationships rather than mutual contracts. For the Wife of Bath, it is the woman who should hold the power above the man. She fills her story with powerful women, making demands and imposing ultimatums. It is the queen who controls the knight's fate and also initiates the plot of the tale (Wife of Bath's Tale, ll. 901 918). The Knight's mission forces him to beg for something from the women, thus placing each of them in a superior position. His wife has enough control to marry him on his command and against his will. And at the end, on their wedding night, he also plainly asks "Thank you, I got your maistry.../ Too bad he can't chese and rule like me?" (Bath's Tale Wife, l.1243). Marital happiness is achieved directly by the Knight who accepts this condition. The moment he agrees to delegate all the power to her, she becomes beautiful and "her herte bathes in a bath of bliss" (Wife of Bath's Tale, l. 1259). This is a strong and definitive reiteration of the concept that a relationship only works when it has been created on unequal terms. The personalities of the two narrators only serve to reinforce their different ideas. The Wife of Bath's stories of her life carry the same portrayal of marriage as her tale. All of his marriages have been unequal in the distribution of power. With her first three husbands she was in control. He explicitly says that "... I had the hoolly hem in my hand" (Wife of Bath's Prologue, l.217). Although she does not speak of this power to her fourth husband, she has enough of it that "...in his owene grece [she makes] him fry, / Per angre and per verray jalousye" (Wife of Bath's Prologue, ll. 493-494 ). And her fifth husband clearly controls her physically, as she explains “Yet to me he was the meanest; / That I feel on my ribs at the rewe, / And always until the day of my end. / But in our bed he was so fresh and cheerful " (Bath's Wife's Prologue, ll. 511-514). She is with this violent man because he pleases her sexually. This heightened sexuality is another aspect of his personality that can be found in his narrative. During his prologue, he is shown to be a sexually voracious being with heightened physical desires and demands. Her story begins with a rape and ends in a double bed, finished with sex scenes. The only aspect that prevents the Knight from achieving marital bliss is his lack of desire for his new wife. Love comes only when he finds her attractive, so he feels sexual desire for her. This is clearly a reflection of the Wife's needs.