# L'Envoy of Chaucer explained — The Canterbury Tales

> Chapter companion for The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.

## 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.

## Themes 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.

## Character check-ins

### Chaucer

The author directly speaks in his own voice, delivering a satirical envoy to wives.

### Griseldis

Referenced as the epitome of patience, now dead and buried in Italy, serving as a cautionary example.

## Key lines

> 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._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/chapters/l-envoy-of-chaucer
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/chapters