Adulterous Wives In Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

The male storytellers within the Canterbury Tales’ have resorted to coping with their adulterous wives in ways that give insight to their psychological complexity. The first story alluding to the unfaithful wives is by the Miller. In his story, he makes a joke of adultery and is more concerned with silliness and absurdity of the story than the fact the wife was cheating. His middle school humor is out of place when compared to the Host’s original description, yet it duly distracts him from his wife’s faults. Similarly, the Reeve’s wife is committing adultery, yet he copes contrastingly to the Miller’s almost sarcastic outlook. He is instead angry and lashes out at others in the party, especially the Miller. “‘Do evil and be done by as you did’…Thus
I’ve paid out the Miller with my story!” (p. 119). The Reeve is obsessed with revenge and it becomes the distractor from his relationship with his wife. Furthermore, the Merchant tells of his wife by mirroring his tale to wife. He explains she is horrid and the wife of the knight, January, is the same. He copes with by explaining the problems with his wife rather directly even though he meant to be indirect. At the end of the Merchant’s story, the host even complains about his disloyal wife. His discontent is displayed through his sympathy for the other men in the group and attempting to ease their heartache. “Well, let it go! No sense to rub a sore” (p. 388).