How we cite our quotes: (Line Number)
Quote #10
"Madame," he seyde, "ye mote foryeve it me,
Though I do thing to which I am constreyned.
Ye been so wys that ful wel knowe ye
That lordes hestes mowe nat been y-feyned;
They mowe wel been biwailled or compleyned,
But men mot nede unto hire lust obeye,
And so wol I; ther is na more to seye." (526-532)
The Sergeant's speech raises an interesting question here, and one that reflects on Grisilde as much as on him: are people obligated to obey every command given by someone in power over them? Or might even higher (perhaps moral) considerations play a role in one's decision to obey or not? Remember that the command the Sergeant (and Grisilde) are supposedly obeying here is to commit infanticide.
Quote #11
"Ye been oure lord, doth with youre owene thing
Right as yow liste; axeth no reed at me.
For as I lefte at hoom al my clothing
Whan I first cam to yow, right so," quod she,
"Left I my wil and al my libertee,
And took your clothing. Wherefore I yow preye,
Doth your plesaunce; I wol youre lust obeye." (652-658)
Grisilde's claim to have discarded not only her liberty but her will with her old clothing further marks her as Walter's possession, rather than as a thinking, desiring being. Since Grisilde sees herself in this way, she quite naturally sees no reason for Walter to clear things with her, to ask her "reed." Walter's insistence on doing so makes it seem as if he is much more uncomfortable and uncertain than Grisilde is concerning her position.
Quote #12
Beth nat bidaffed for youre innocence,
But sharply tak on yow the governaille.
[…]
In jalousye I rede eek thou him binde,
And thou shalt make him couche as dooth a quaille. (1191-1192, 1205-1206)
Part of the Envoy's advice to wives is to gain mastery over their husbands, just as the Wife of Bath had suggested they should. On the one hand, the message of the Envoy doesn't seem to fit with the "Clerk's Tale." On the other hand, if we see the Tale as a warning about the torments that can afflict the wife who is patient with a tyrannical husband, the Envoy makes perfect sense... though then we have to wonder why it's suggested in the Envoy that women should make their husbands actually suffer. Is the point perhaps that neither party should have power over the other?