Medieval Romantic Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Medieval Romantic Literature - Essay Example It is worth noting that, despite the superficial portrayal of an ideal world, these stories reveal a bi9g deal of realistic problems that come to humanity. "Wife of Bath’s Tale" This narrative belongs to King Arthur’s category. The narrator of the tale is the wife of Bath. She tells the story of knight who followed the habits of incubi that existed in the preceding era. The story highlights the consequences that befell one of king Arthur’s knights after he gave in to his fleshly desires. The knight committed rape, an offense that had terrible effects. The knight had come across a maiden who had irresistible beauty1. The knight could not suppress his desire and he decided to use the power bestowed upon a knight and forced the maiden into the ordeal. In those days, knights were real warriors accorded respect and honor by the subjects of the king. However, soon the king came to knowledge of what he had done. The knight had miscalculated his chances of getting away w ith the crime he had committed2. King Arthur did not intend to spare him from the decapitation that awaited him because of his act. However, the queen made a suggestion to the king. She intended to save the knight’s life. However, she demanded that the knight had to indulge in interviews and provide an answer the inquiry that queen would pose. The queen ordered the knight to find out what women desired most. His life would be safe if he established the right answer to the inquiry. However, if his venture proved a failure, he would face decapitation. The knight embarked on a journey to different parts of the land seeking to establish the one desire that a woman would do anything to have fulfilled. For some time, his venture was proving unsuccessful because different women had varying answers for his inquiry3. However, knowing that finding the real answer was fundamental to saving his life, he did not give up but on with the search. In the end, he found an old woman, who offere d to help him out. However, the woman was not pleasing to the eye for she was ugly and old. She offered to help but with conditions. She demanded a pledge from the knight. The knight, knowing that he had a few days left before he presented himself before the queen to provide an answer to her inquiry; he gave in to the demands of the old woman. He promised to commit himself to the old woman4. The old woman provided him with an answer that impressed the queen, saving his life. However, the knight found it hard to live up to his pledges to the old woman who gave him the right answer. However, he was indebted to her and had to marry her. However, after the marriage, it was difficult for him to accept that he going to live the rest of his life with the wretched woman. On realizing his state of unhappiness and displeasure, the old women inquire why the knight was in this state. The knight explained that it was hard to accept the reality he was facing. The old woman gave the knight two opt ions to choose. On one side, the knight was to decide whether if he preferred a beautiful, but unfaithful wife or he wanted her to remain ugly but loyal. At this point, the knight put into application the useful information that he had gathered from the queen’s inquiry. Realizing that a woman’s greatest desire is having her man under her control, he gave her the freedom to choose what she preferred to become to her man. Fortunately, it worked for him because the freedom to choose presented her with an opportunity to feel superior to