THE PERFECT LOVE
	The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer around 1386, is a
collection of tale told by pilgrims on a religious pilgrimage. Three of these tales;
"The Knight's Tale", "The Wife of Bath's Tale", and "The Franklin's Tale",
involve different kinds of love and different love relationships. Some of the loves
are based on nobility, some are forced and some are  based on mutual respect
for each partner. My idea of love is one that combines aspects from each of the
tales told in The Canterbury Tales.
	In "The Knights Tale", the love between the two knights and Emily is
intensely powerful. The love that Palomon and Arcite feel towards Emily is so
strong that the two knights feel that it is worth more than life. At one point
Palomon says to Arcite, " Though I have no weapon here . . . either you shall
die or you shall not love Emily." The love that Palomon feels for Emily is so
overwhelming that he is willing to take on an armed man, in mortal combat, just
for the love of a woman. Perhaps he feels that without her he will surely die, so
why not die trying to win her. 
	The ironic fact about the relationship between the two knights and Emily
is that Emily does not wish to marry either of the knights. she expresses this in
a prayer to Diana, the goddess of chaste, " Well you know that I desire to be a
maiden all my life; I never want to be either a beloved or a wife." This is so
ironic because Arcite and Palomon are about to kill each other for her love and
she doesn't want to beloved by either of them. She enjoys the thrills of maiden
hood too much to have them ended by marriage.
	While all this is going on, no one stops to think that neither Arcite nor
Palomon has ever even spoken to Emily. When Palomon and Arcite are in jail
Palomon says, " The Beauty of the lady whom I see wandering yonder in the
garden is the cause of all my cries and woes." This is not something That I
would want to base my ideal love on. These two knights are willing to risk their
lives for the love of this woman, whom they have never even met. For all they
know she could be the most annoying person on earth. In that case they would
be risking their lives, only to spend the rest of it with a beautiful and extremely
annoying woman.
	In "The Wife of Bath's Tale" A knight is forced to marry a wretched old
woman to avoid death. The knight and the old woman do not get along well, and  
when the old woman suggests that she can make things better, the knight
responds saying, " Corrected? . . . It will never be corrected! You are so
loathsome and old." A love relationship such as this could never last because
their is no attraction, physical or mental. A major factor in love is physical
attraction between the two partners,  here their is no attraction. Two people can
not love each other if they can stand to be around each other. The knight can
hardly bare to look at his wife, let alone sleep with her.
	Despite the fact that the knight despises her, the old woman persists on
getting the knight to love her, which actually works in some cases. While the
knight is complaining about how terrible his marriage is the old woman says, "
What am I guilty of? For God's sake tell me and it shall be corrected, if I can
manage." After this the old woman continues on convincing the knight that she is
worthy of him and he finally agrees. Sometimes it is necessary to convince the
other person that they love you. The love between the knight and the old woman
started out as a forced relationship and was greatly regretful. But after the old
woman pointed out some good qualities their relationship blossomed into a
beautiful, loving relationship.
	My ideal love is best expressed in " The Franklin's tale". The love
between the knight and his wife is based greatly on respect. From the very
beginning the knight offers her respect and free will, " He swore to her as a
knight that never . . . would he take an authoritarian role over her . . . nor
show jealousy to her, but would obey her . . . as any lover ought his lady." The
knight in this tale knows how to win a lady. By giving her respect and allowing
her to do as she pleases, by not keeping her on a short leash, he wins her
respect and therefore they build a very powerful love relationship.
	Another attribute to their strong relationship is faithfulness. When a young
squire tells the knights wife of his love for her she tells him, " I will never be
an unfaithful wife in word or deed, . . . I will be his to whom I am knit." With
faithfulness comes safety. If a person feels safe in a relationship they tend to stay
their, making the relationship that much stronger.
	Each of the love relationships I have just described contains qualities that I
feel are important in my ideal love relationship. I feel that passion is important,
as in "The Knight's Tale" when Palomon is willing to fight Arcite for Emily; it
adds excitement to the relationship.  Sometimes persistence can play an important
role in a love relationship, as it did in " The Wife of Bath's Tale" when the old
woman persists that the knight should love her. Finally, I feel that respect plays a
key role in making a good love relationship. When to people love and respect
each other, as the knight and his wife did in " The Franklin's Tale", it helps to
build a very strong and rewarding love relationship. But, for every quality that I
like in each story, there is also a quality that I feel is detrimental to a blissful
relationship. For instance, in " The Wife of Bath's Tale " the knight is forced
into a love relationship, which I feel could only lead to an unfulfilling
relationship. Also in " The Knight's Tale ", Arcite and Palomon are in love with
a woman to whom they have never even spoken to. this could only bring on
arguments and would definitely be a shabby relationship.