# The Lady’s Answer to the Knight explained — Hudibras

> Chapter companion for Hudibras by Samuel Butler.

## What happens

The Lady responds to Hudibras's advances with a scathing rebuke, mocking his cowardice, perjury, and mercenary motives. She exposes his love as greed for her wealth and land, and defends women's autonomy against male tyranny and hypocrisy.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Marriage as Warfare

The Lady frames courtship as a battle, with Hudibras using fraud and force, and women defending their autonomy.

### Human Vanity and Self-Deception

Hudibras's self-deception about his motives is exposed; the Lady reveals his love as greed for her wealth.

### Religious Hypocrisy

The Lady accuses Hudibras of perjury and using the Gospel to justify his treachery, paralleling religious hypocrisy.

## Character check-ins

### Hudibras

The Knight is addressed by the Lady, who recalls his defeat by Trulla and his broken oaths.

### Trulla

Mentioned as the Amazon who disarmed Hudibras and won his sword and spurs in single combat.

## Key lines

> That sword, that did (like Fate) determine Th’ inevitable death of vermin, And never dealt its furious blows, But cut the throats of pigs and cows, By Trulla was, in single fight, Disarm’d and wrested from its Knight;

That sword, which was only used to kill pigs and cows, was taken from Hudibras by Trulla in single combat.

_The Lady mocks Hudibras's martial prowess, reducing his victories to slaughtering livestock._

> For money has a power above The stars and fate to manage love, Whose arrows, learned poets hold, That never miss, are tipp’d with gold.

Money controls love more than fate or the stars; Cupid's arrows are tipped with gold, not romance.

_The Lady cynically asserts that wealth, not affection, drives courtship._

> Marriage, at best, is but a vow, Which all men either break or bow: Then what will those forbear to do, Who perjure when they do but woo?

Marriage is just a vow that men either break or submit to; if they lie while courting, they'll do worse after.

_The Lady questions the integrity of men who perjure themselves in pursuit of a wife._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/hudibras_se/chapters/part-iii-the-lady-s-answer-to-the-knight
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/hudibras_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/hudibras_se/chapters