Allegory

The Clerk claims that he tells his tale not to counsel women to behave like Grisilde (which would be unlikely), "but for that every wight in his degree / Sholde be constant in adversitee / As was Grisilde," and further, "Sith a womman was so pacient / Unto a mortal man, wel moore us oghte / Receyven al in gree that God us sent" (1145-1147, 1149-1151).

Translation: "I'm not telling women to behave like this. I'm saying that the relationship between Walter and Grisilde stands in for the relationship between God and us."

That means that the Clerk is claiming for his tale the status of fable or allegory. An allegory is a story with two layers of meaning: the literal meaning and a more symbolic meaning. If the "Clerk's Tale" is an allegory, then Grisilde represents the human soul, and Walter represents the God to whom this soul owes absolute faithfulness and obedience.

(For more about this interpretation of the "Clerk's Tale," see our "What's Up with the Ending?" section.)