In Chaucer's "The Wife of Bath's Tale," he suggests that there is a reciprocal relationship between desire and control in relationships. The greatest desire for another person occurs in a relationship where one has the least control, and the least desire occurs where one has the greatest control. Thus, we desire those most that we can control the least.
In the prologue to the tale, the Wife of Bath recounts her marital history, detailing how she has been abused at the hands of her five husbands and pointing out that the one she loved the most was the one who loved her least and abused her the most. Her husbands wanted the freedom to have sex with other women but wanted her to remain chaste for themselves, to which she comments that the sexual organs were made for more than just passing urine. In other words, if people were not intended to enjoy sex, why are the sexual organs so constructed as to produce enjoyment? After recounting her many tribulations at the hands of her husbands, whose greatest desire was to control her while they remained free, the Wife of Bath concludes, "I'll not delay, a husband I will get Who shall be both my debtor and my thrall And have his tribulations therewithal Upon his flesh, the while I am his wife" (Chaucer). Interestingly, she does not determine to have a marriage where both she and her husband are free-a win-win situation-but one where she turns the tables and becomes the one in power, while her husband becomes the one under her control. Thus, the whole issue of bondage would continue, only with a different person-her-in charge. Clearly, she does not understand or engage in true love any better than her husbands do.
The Wife of Bath's tale explores the issue of power further, as the bachelor is given a reprieve from death if can find out what women really want. After traveling all about the land for a year, the day comes when he must give his answer, and the answ...