Pilgrimage

I was talking with Prof. MB about the WOB being sterile. She wrote back "Perhaps that is why she's so vocal about her sexuality - to make up for the perceived lack? That she is still on some level trying to conceive?" It got me thinking. I know men would try other partners when they couldn't conceive. That goes back to Sarai and Hagar at least. I know that the idea existed of women using alternate sources (other guys) when they couldn't conceive for their husbands. I think (but I don't have the book with me) that there is a nasty letter by Henry IV saying that Richard II's mom used that method to conceive Richard II.

I think the WOB is someone who jokes through her pain. Choosing not to conceive, and not being able to conceive, are very different emotionally. It always hurts to have choice taken away.

I think I remember Prof. MB asking why these people are on pilgrimage. I wonder if Alisoun's many pilgrimages may be to seek an end to her infertility. She isn't the type to talk about her pain if it is there. It could also be why she thinks so much about what constitutes a good woman.

The knight may be on pilgrimage because he is a "perfit gentil knight." But maybe he also has things he wanted to atone for, like being at Alexandria. The Reeve is grappling with old age, which could inspire a pilgrimage to ask God for healing, or to make things right before the end. I don't know about the others. While there are obvious things it would be good for them to ask forgiveness for, I'm not sure what actually motivates them.

I also wonder if their stories connect with their actual motivations.