The Franklin's Tale Rewrite
The Franklin’s Tale Rewrite
The main theme in the Franklin’s Tale is love. Chaucer focuses on many different aspects of this theme in the tale. At first the tale explains how to get one’s love. As the tell continues it explains how one should act to keep their love. While a third theme, don’t make promises one wouldn’t want to keep, can bee seen when Arviragus’ makes Dorigen hold to her promise with Aurelius.
Arviragus falls in love with Dorigen. To win her love, he devotes himself to her and works tirelessly until she decides to take him for her husband. The theme explained by this part of the tale, love doesn’t come easy, explains how to get one’s love. By writing, “There was a knight that loved and worked hard, To serve a lady in his best manner; And many a labor, and a great chivalric exploit, He wrought for his lady before she was won,” (Benson, 730-733) Chaucer tells the reader about the main character’s struggle to win his love.
After their wedding, Arviragus swears to treat Dorigen right. The things that he promises to Dorigen fall in line with the values of marriage today and explain the second theme. With the quotation, “That never in all his life he, day or night, should take upon himself any mastery, Against her will, nor show her jealousy, but obey her, and follow her wil in everything, As any lover to his lady should,” (Benson, 746-750), Chaucer shows how Arviragus understands this theme.
Shortly after Arviragus returns home to Dorigen, he discovers her promise to Aurelius. Arviragus makes her hold to her word and do as she promised. With this action Chaucer shows a third theme, don’t make promises you don’t plan to hold true to. By saying, “That you should keep and save your pledged word, One’s pledged word is the highest thing that one may keep,” (Benson,1478-1479) Arviragus tells his wife to go have an affair with another man, as long as she keeps her promise.