Atte ende I hadde the bettre in ech degree,
By sleighte, or force, or by som maner thyng,
As by continueel murmur or grucchyng.
Namely abedde hadden they meschaunce:
Ther wolde I chide and do hem no plesaunce;
I wolde no lenger in the bed abyde,
If that I felte his arm over my syde,
Til he had maad his raunson unto me;
Thanne wolde I suffre hym do his nycetee.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. The Wife of Bath boasts how she achieved sovereignty over her husbands and got what she wanted by using trickery, force and continuous complaining. This extended to the bedroom where Alison would scold and withhold sex from her husband. That is, until he (metaphorically) paid his ransom to her, only then she would let him have his pleasure. Anyone can profit and everything is for sale, says Alison, who will sell her body to satisfy her greed for money and material things.