In "The Clerk's Tale" by Geoffrey Chaucer, from The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer describes a "perfect wife". This wife, Griselda, is totally submissive to her husband and seems to have no regrets or remorse for anything he makes her do. Griselda's husband, Walter, subjects her to many tests to test her dedication and loyalty to him. He takes both of their children away, telling her he will have them killed. He then tells her that he is divorcing her and taking another bride. Then he forces her to prepare a new bride for him. Through it all, Griselda loves Walter relentlessly, fulfills his requests without any words of disapproval, and remains faithful. This leaves the reader asking many questions. What kind of mother is a woman who would allow her children to be killed without any opposition from her? Is she weak for letting her husband do this to her? Is Griselda truly a wonderful and patient woman, or is she cold and heartless? Griselda exemplifies the archetypal virtuous (as conceived by the patriarchy), submissive and silent woman. Of course, one cannot regard Griselda as an entirely real person, because, in theory, no real person would allow herself to be treated this way, no matter how one believes a woman should act. It only makes sense when the reader sees her as representing a particular biblical tradition: the suffering servant. Most readers of "The Clerk's Tale", especially women, see her as a bad mother and a bad person. However, compared to some characters in the Bible, the reader is able to find some sympathy for her. Walter is the leader of the town and is forced to find a bride. He decides on Gr...... middle of paper...... The clerk invites the reader to think about the fact that if this human woman can show so much patience towards another human being, why can't the reader have this patience with the trials that God sends to people in their lives. God does not give anyone a test that he cannot pass. When The Clerk's Tale is viewed from this angle, Griselda becomes a role model that all humans should strive to imitate. Works Cited: 1.) Chaucer, Geoffrey. "The Clerk's Tale", The Canterbury Tales. Translated by Nevill Coghill. London: Penguin Group, 1951. 320-356.2.) http://panther.bsc.edu/~shagen/gresgend.htm3.) Chaucer, Geoffrey. "The Clerk's Tale", The Riverside Chaucer. Gen. Ed. Larry D. Benson. Third edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987. 137-153.4.) The Harper Collins Study Bible. Gen. Ed. Wayne A. Meeks. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993.