THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT OF THE FRANKLIN'S TALE: THE REMAKING OF SOCIETY

When Dorigen and Arveragus promise each other marriage and much more, the Franklin has scarcely finished thirty lines of his story. Critics (I among them) now habitually refer to their mutual vows as a "marriage contract," but the phrase, suggestive of a bar gain such as Millamant and Mirabell struck centuries later, does not at all describe the situation. Arveragus relinquishes "maistrie" after Dorigen has already agreed to marry him; she never makes it a condition of her acceptance. Dorigen in response banishes all the weapons so dear to the Wife of Bath. They vow "of free wyl,"1 generously, not so much to conciliate their partner as "For to lede the moore in blisse hir lyves" (F 744). The Franklin's Tale thus opens, as so many of Shakespeare's comedies end, with the promise of an ideal society. Few modern critics wish to admit that the marriage in fact lives up to any ideal they are willing to recognize. To some, the events of the story belie the initial vows, and Arveragus proves himself a most disobedient knight.2 Dorothy Colmer prefers to defend the consis tency of Arveragus's behavior by undercutting his initial vows.3 And J. Terry Frazier dismisses the whole passage as a "digression on marriage" which "has no functional value" and whose "terms are never invoked."4 To these and others, the couple displays what is at best "prudential" wisdom. The Arveragus who sends Dorigen to Aurelius sounds all too mas terful, as these critics are quick to point out. If the generosity which prompts their initial vows survives this crisis, it emerges triumphant, and I accordingly quote the lines. Note the imperatives, and the appeal to loyalty: