For certeinly – I sey for no bobance –
Yet was I nevere withouten purveiance
Of mariage, n’ of othere thynges eek.
I holde a mouses herte nat worth a leek
That hath but oon hole for to sterte to,
And if that faille, thanne is al ydo.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. Always with a backup plan in place when it comes to marriage, the Wife of Bath while still married to her fourth husband flirted with Jankin and they agreed to marry when she next became a widow. She explains using one of her domestic metaphors: a mouse’s heart with only one hole to flee to not worth a leek, if that should fail, then all is lost. Her flirtation with Jankin while at the same time complaining about her husband’s adultery makes her a hypocrite.