[Footnote 40: Who, exclaims the wife of Bath, could imagine
The woe that in mine hearte was and pine? And when I saw he nolde never fine To reden on this cursed book all night, All suddenly three leaves have I plight Out of this booke that he had, and eke I with my fist so took him on the cheek, That in our fire he fell backward adown. And he upstert as doth a wood leoun, And with his fist he smote me on the head That in the floor I lay as I were dead. And when he saw so stille that I lay He was aghast, and would have fled away. Till atte last out of my swoon I braide; O hastow slain me, false thief I said, And for my land thus hastow murdered me? Ere I be dead, yet will I kisse thee.
"Pine" is pain; "fine" is cease; "plight" is plucked; "wood" is mad; and "braide" is awoke. Pope has dropped the natural circumstance of the clerk's terror when he fancies he has killed his wife. This alarm brings out more strongly the hypocrisy of his virulent dame in pretending that the blow he gave her on the head, after she had torn the leaves out of his book and knocked him backwards into the fire, was with the deliberate design of murdering her to get possession of her property.]
[Footnote 41: Pope's translation is mawkish, and his "adieu, my dear, adieu!" destroys the point of the story. The wife of Bath seconds the blow with reproaches instead of with terms of endearment, nor does she consent to be pacified until the clerk surrenders at discretion. Had she relaxed before her conquest was complete, she would have lost the opportunity of establishing her dominion. After the line, "Ere I be dead, yet will I kisse thee," Chaucer thus continues:
And near he came, and kneeleth fairadown, And saide, Deare sister Alisoun, As help me God, I shall thee never smite; That I have done it is thyself to wite; Forgive it me, and that I thee beseke; And yet oftsoon I hit him on the cheek, And saide, Thief thus muchel I me wreke Now will I die, I may no longer speak. But atte last, with muchel care and woe We fell accorded by ourselven two; He gave me all the bridle in mine hand To have the governance of house and land, And of his tongue, and of his hand also, And made him burn his book anon right tho.