We wommen han, if that I shal nat lye,
In this matere a queynte fantasye:
Wayte what thyng we may nat lightly have,
Therafter wol we crie al day and crave.
Forbede us thyng, and that desiren we;
Preesse on us faste, and thanne wol we fle.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. Forbid women something and they will desire it, crying all day and craving for it, the Wife of Bath says. She is referring to women who love men who treat them badly – like her attraction to fifth husband Jankin, who has beaten her and been standoffish with his love.