How we cite our quotes: (Line Number)
Quote #4
I moot don with thy doghter for the beste,
Nat as I wolde, but as my peple lest. (489-490)
Walter's choice to call his and Grisilde's baby "thy doghter" makes it seem as if he does not even acknowledge the child as his own. This sentiment would be in keeping with his aim of making Grisilde feel like an illegitimate intruder in the palace, someone whose children don't really belong there.
Quote #5
She seyde, 'Lord, al lyth in youre plesaunce;
My child and I with hertely obeisaunce
Ben youres al, and ye mowe save or spille
Youre owene thing: werketh after youre wille.' (501-504)
Grisilde's portrayal of herself and her child as Walter's property is extreme, but it accurately reflects the legal status of women at this time period: they were denied personhood before the law except as "covered" by their husbands.
Quote #6
And mekely she to the sergeant preyed,
So as he was a worthy gentil man,
That she moste kisse hire child er that it deyde;
And in hir barm this litel child she leyde
With ful sad face, and gan the child to blisse
and lulled it, and after gan it kisse. (548-553)
This moment is so gut-wrenchingly dramatic that it convinces us of Grisilde's love for her child. It's necessarily for us to believe in this love so that Grisilde's sacrifice in the name of obedience will appear all the more heroic.