The Canterbury Tales · Chapter
L'Envoy of Chaucer explained
Chaucer directly addresses wives, urging them to abandon the passive patience of Griselda and instead adopt assertive, even combative, behavior toward their husbands.
What happens
Chaucer directly addresses wives, urging them to abandon the passive patience of Griselda and instead adopt assertive, even combative, behavior toward their husbands. He advises them to use sharp eloquence, show no humility, and govern their households with strength, warning that meekness leads only to being devoured by the mythical beast Chichëvache.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This passage marks the story's dramatic climax because it shifts the focus from the external, ritualistic acts…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Gender and Power
Chaucer subverts traditional gender roles by encouraging wives to dominate their husbands through eloquence and assertiveness.
- Marriage and Sovereignty
The envoy directly addresses marital dynamics, advocating for wifely sovereignty and control over the household.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“Griseld' is dead, and eke her patience, And both at once are buried in Itále”
Griselda and her patience are both dead and buried in Italy.
Chaucer declares the end of the ideal of patient wifely submission.
“Be not bedaffed for your innocence, But sharply take on you the governail”
Do not be fooled by your innocence, but firmly take control.
Chaucer advises wives to abandon naivety and seize governance of their households.
“The arrows of thy crabbed eloquence Shall pierce his breast, and eke his aventail”
The sharp arrows of your bitter speech will pierce his chest and armor.
He likens a wife's harsh words to weapons that can overcome a husband's defenses.
