I have the power durynge al my lyf
Upon his propre body, and noght he.
Right thus the Apostel tolde it unto me,
And bad oure housbondes for to love us weel.
Al this sentence me liketh every deel.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. Husbands are commanded to love their wives well, the Wife of Bath says quoting the Apostle Paul. By love she obviously means sexual lovemaking, as she is talking about having power over her husband’s body. Paul certainly did say in Ephesians 5:25: "Husbands, love your wives." But he also commanded that wives must respect her husbands – and this Wife of Bath certainly doesn’t!