Power In Chaucer's Gone Girl

Wole Soyinka, a contemporary Nigerian poet, says, “Power is domination, control, and therefore a very selective form of truth which is a lie.” The Wife of Bath, in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, claims that this power and domination is what women crave, but specifically over their husbands and lovers. Amy Elliott, the main character in Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, manipulates her husband emotionally and physically by framing him for her abduction and murder. When Amy’s plan goes awry, she decides to return to Nick, her husband, and once more manipulates him into a subservient relationship. Amy’s manipulation represents an extreme example of the Wife of Bath’s suggestion that what women desire most is control over their husbands. The Wife of Bath
This projection is evident because of her striking resemblance to the old woman, as well as how the Wife of Bath upholds this desire in her personal life. The knight rapes a women, so he is brought to the court to be assigned a punishment by the queen and other ladies of the court. Instead of the customary punishment of death, the ladies along with the queen challenge the knight to answer the question, What do women desire most, and to return in a year and a day. The knight cannot find a consistent answer until meeting an old woman who claims to obtain the answer, as long the knight pledges to help her in return when needed. The old woman reveals to the court and to the knight that what women desire most is control over their husbands and lovers. The old, ugly woman that provided the knight with the answer to this question shares a strong resemblance to the Wife of Bath herself. Chaucer states in the “Wife of Bath’s Prologue”, “But age, alas, that poisons what is prime, Has bereft me of my beauty and my pith”
The Wife of Bath’s attempts at gaining control are harmless and are due to the lack of independence women had at the time whereas Amy pursues complete mind and body control over her husband to the point of sociopathy. In the “Wife of Bath’s Prologue”, there is evidence of the extreme lack of social equality for women. Chaucer writes, “You said this: that I was just like a cat,” (354). The “you” in this quote is referring to men. This quote demonstrates the objectification of women at the time, so the Wife of Bath’s desire for control over her husbands is a method to regain a form of power, even if it is just within the marriage or relationship. Amy Elliott’s need for control over Nick, however, is due to her sociopathic tendencies. She writes in her diary, “I've always thought I could commit the perfect murder. People who get caught get caught because they don't have patience; they refuse to plan,” (pg. 235). Not only is the violent part of this quote disturbing, it is also the premeditated foreshadowing to later in the book when she does commit the “perfect murder.” The reason she carefully plans a murder as well as fakes her own abduction, is to avenge Nick’s affair. This demonstrates sociopathic behaviour due to the need for control that is not present within the Wife of