And eek, for she was somdel smoterlich,
She was as digne as water in a dich,
And ful of hoker and of bisemare.
Hir thoughte that a lady sholde hire spare,
What for hire kynrede and hir nortelrie
That she hadde lerned in the nonnerie.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. How Symkyn’s wife sees herself and how others might see her are a little different. With pretensions to be a "lady" and respected so by others, and considering her good convent education and family, she holds herself aloof. But seeing that she her reputation is damaged by being the illegitimate child of a priest, she is as dignified as water in a ditch, says the storyteller.