And if that she be foul, thou seist that she
Coveiteth every man that she may se,
For as a spanyel she wol on hym lepe,
Til that she fynde som man hire to chepe.
Ne noon so grey goos gooth ther in the lake
As, seistow, wol been withoute make.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. Referring to ugly women as dogs, the Wife of Bath says that an ugly woman is viewed as coveting every man she sees, leaping on them like a spaniel until she finds some man to take her. Ugly women may lack mates, but they have passion and desire a mate. No drab grey goose goes to the lake to be without a partner, Alison says, using an animal metaphor to make her point.