The Clerk Speaks to All

Before the Clerk spoke up the tension among the pilgrims was becoming palpable. The miller upset the reeve with a tale about a young clerk who was having an affair with a carpenter’s wife. Then, in response, the Reeve told a tale about a miller who gets outsmarted by two students who end up sleeping with his wife and young daughter out of spite. Next, the friar tells a story about a crooked summoner. This prompts the summoner’s story of a corrupt friar. The Clerk, a wise character, seems to have perfect timing as he spins a didactic tale that every participant of the Canterbury pilgrimage can take meaning from. The lines that hold the message read:

            This story is seid, nat for that wives sholde

            Folwen Grisilde as in humilitee

            For it were inportable, thogh they wolde;

            But for that every wight, in his degree,

            Sholde be constant in adversitee (1142-1145)

In “The Clerk’s Tale” the character of Grisilde, a young woman, who shows incredible restraint in the face of adversity, is a model for pilgrims and readers alike. Therefore, the pilgrims “Sholde be constant in adversitee” and not seeking revenge on one another, but rather handle the situation with the grace of Grisilde (1146). Second, women pilgrims and female readers alike are encouraged to show restraint, but are told to “Lat noon humilitee youre tonge naile!” (1184). Finally, the male pilgrims and male readers are forewarned to not do as Walter does, for Grisilde has died and with her the patience of a saint. So, “No wedded man so hardy be t’assaille / His wives pacience, in trust to finde / Grisildis, for he in certain he shal faille” (1180).

Marriage and Manipulation

"The Clerk's Tale" should elicit a strong emotional response from the reader because its protagonist is a good and innocent person who suffers repeatedly to satisfy her husband's obsession.  At the behest of his people, Walter, the marquis agrees to wed and provide them a successor of his lineage. His stipulation that he marry a woman of his choosing, no matter her social rank, is an interesting one. Walter’s reasoning for this seems to come from his belief that “under lowe degree / Was ofte vertu hid…” (425-426). Therefore, it makes sense that he chooses the low-born Grisilde. Walter also seems to be interested in Grisilde because he sees in her an ability or willingness to be completely subservient to him.  In a statement to her about what he requires of a wife he says:

I say this, be ye redy with good herte

To al my lust, and that I frely may,

As me best thinketh, do yow laugh or smerte,

And nevere ye to grucche it, night ne day,

And eek whan I say “ye, ne say nat “nay”,

Walter goes on to have her swear to the “oath,” and she does. After they marry he seems to invoke the right to cause her to feel pain by taking from her their first born child and telling her it will be killed. She does not flinch, but rather tells him that she and the child are his to do with as he pleases. After Walter takes her second child, a boy, she reacts in very much the same way. Then, when he informs her that she will be replaced with another she maintains her stoic demeanor and only asks that he “ne prike with nor tormentinge / This tender mainden, as ye han don mo” (1038-1039). Her reactions to the trials and tribulations created for her by Walter are shocking. Perhaps what is equally shocking is the fact that Walter has lied about the children’s deaths and the new wife to learn, through Grisilde's reactions, of her true character and devotion to him.  

This tale remind me of this quote by Martin Luther King, Jr.:

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Where that Wrascally Walter Went Wrong

I know we all hate Walter, and I think rightly so. But I wonder if we are supposed to learn from him as we learn from Grisilde. At the end of the tale we are told by the Clerk that “This storye is seid, nat for that wives shoulde / Folwen Grisilde as in humilitee, / for it were inportable…” (1142-44). It was said in class that we are not supposed to take Grisilde too literally. And here the Clerk lets us know that we are not supposed to actually use her as a model of behavior. Instead he indicates what we are supposed to take from this is, “But for every wight, in his degree, / Shoulde be constant in adversity” (1145-46). She is an exaggeration of that particular virtue. We are supposed to take away that idea not the specifics of her use of it. Walter may fall under a similar category. He seems to get points from the clerk (and ultamatly the people) for choosing a wife based on virtue not station. The clerk says “Thus Walter, lowely —nay, but royally— / Wedded with fourtunat honestetee” (421-422). The Clerk only starts ridiculing him when he decides to test her.

                        He hadde assayed hier inow bifore,

                        And fond hier evere good; what neded it

                        Hir for to tempte moore and moore

                        Thogh som men preise it for a subtle wit?

                        But as for me, I seye that ivele it sit (456-460).

According to the gloss, “assaye” is to make trial of. He has not really put her through any trial yet. He has only observed her in her daily life. The Clerk seems alright with that; it is further testing that he questions, “What neded it” and then later condemns “I seye that ivele it sit.” He says it is not only pointless and unnecessary, it is simply evil. It would seem that this is a moment similar to when he points out that real women should not follow Grisilde. Apparently some men have seen a “subtle wit” in what Walter does, but the Clerk is letting us know that this is just as excessive (perhaps more so) as what Grisilde does. Maybe what men are supposed to take away from Walter is that while choosing a wife based on virtue not status is a good thing, it is not right for them to put that virtue to the test. It is immoral and, if you have gone into it with both eyes open, totally pointless.