Paper Summary:

This paper looks at how the most controversial of contemporary institutions depicted in "The Canterbury Tales" is marriage. In particular, the paper focuses on the "Franklin's Tale" and looks at how
Chaucer uses this tale to illustrate that the omission of supremacy, due to ideal notions, leads to misfortune, relationship conflicts, and inevitably, dilemmas within one's self.

From the Paper:

"The principle concern of Arveragus' and Dorigen's marriage is the abandonment of "maistrie." Maistrie, from which the word mastery is derived, pertains to the superior command or control of another individual. In the eyes of the optimistic newlyweds, there was to be no domination of one another; mutual deference instead of perpetual battle for dominance was the aspired goal. Instead of "soveraynetee," Arveragus and Dorigen were to be guided by the principles of "gentillesse" and "trouthe"."

Sample of Sources Used:

• White, Gertrude M. "The Franklin's Tale: Chaucer or the Critics." PMLA 89(1974): 454-462.
• Frazier, J Terry. "The Digression on Marriage in the Franklin's Tale." South Atlantic Bulletin 43(1978): 75-85.
• Green, Donald C. "The Semantics of Power: 'Maistrie' and 'Soveraynetee' in 'The Canterbury Tales'" Modern Philology 84(1986): 18-23.
• Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales Complete. Third. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000.

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