For sondry scoles maken sotile clerkis;
Womman of manye scoles half a clerk is.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Merchant’s Tale. January sees marriage as a form of education with the husband as the teacher. But the more a woman learns, the more tricks she gains, making her a threat to the husband and his authority. So January wants a young woman for a wife whom he can mold.