Shipman's Tale in Cantebury Tales
The Shipman’s Tale is among the more comical of all of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The story deals with a woman who decides to have an affair with John (a monk) under the pretenses of a business deal. The monk pretends to be related to an affluent merchant so he can have the chance to be near this woman. The woman tells John that she needs clothing; John responds in turn with the money for clothing and a night of sex. The ‘debt’ owed to her husband will be reimbursed in bed (line 417). The story does not denounce either the woman or John for their behavior, but their relationship symbolizes something much greater about how sex and money are essentially interchangeable.