How we cite our quotes: (Line Number)
Quote #1
For God it woot, that children ofte been
Unlyk hir worthy eldres hem bifore;
Bountee comth al of God nat of the streen
Of which they been engendred and yboore. (155-158)
Walter's sentiment here echoes the Wife of Bath's claim that gentility comes from God and not lineage. This is only one of many echoes of the "Wife of Bath's Tale" which serve, ironically, to link this tale about a totally submissive wife to that tale about women's desire for sovereignty.
Quote #2
A doghter hadde he, fair y-nogh to sighte,
And Grisildis this yonge mayden highte.
But for to speke of vertuous beautee,
Than was she oon the faireste under sonne. (209-212)
By moving quickly from Grisilde's exterior beauty to her "vertuous beautee," or inward characteristics, the tale implies that while she's definitely easy on the eyes, the most important thing about Grisilde is that she's virtuous within.
Quote #3
But for to speke of vertuous beautee,
Than was she oon the faireste under sonne,
For povreliche y-fostred up was she. (211-213)
Here the narrator connects Grisilde's virtue to a life lived in poverty. This connection between virtue and poverty goes hand in hand with Walter's later point that virtue comes from your character and not from your lineage. This passage implies that a life of poverty better fosters a character that is likely to be virtuous.