In al the reawme of France is ther no wyf
That lasse lust hath to that sory pley…
Wherfore I thynke out of this land to wende,
Or elles of myself to make an ende,
So ful am I of drede and eek of care.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Shipman’s Tale. The wife makes it clear that she rejects her merchant husband. She tells the monk that she has no sexual desire for him. Her sexual despair is so great that it might lead to suicide, she reveals.