How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
O hateful harm,
condicion of poverte!
With thurst, with coold, with hunger so confounded!
To asken help thee shameth in thyn herte,
If thou noon aske, so soore artow so wounded
That verray nede unwrappeth al they wounde hid. (99-103)
Well that's a weird beginning. We're expecting an adventure, and instead we get a bunch of whining about how bad poverty is? As far as we can tell, the only real link between this introduction and the actual plot of "The Man of Law's Tale" is that in both, much physical suffering ensues. This link is a bit of a stretch though. No matter how you slice it, this is an odd way to begin.
Quote #2
Allas, what wonder is it thogh she wepte,
That shal be sent to strange nacioun
Fro freendes that so tendrely hir kepte,
And to be bounden under subjeccioun
Of oon, she knoweth nat his condicioun? (267-271)
The narrator is sensitive to the suffering involved in what, for many medieval noble women, was a fact of life: forced marriage. It was pretty common for a woman to be forced to ditch her friends and family and marry a stranger. Adding to the difficulty of Custance's plight is that she "knoweth nat" the "condicoun," or culture, of the man to whom she is pledged, meaning that the world of her future husband is totally alien to her. This is gonna be interesting.
Quote #3
"But crist, that start for our savacioun,
So yeve me grace hise heestes to fulfille,--
I, wrecche womman, no fors though I spille!
Wommen are born to thraldom and penance,
And to been under mannes governance."
Custance takes strength from another person who suffered—Christ. When she speaks of the plight of all women, "born to thraldom and penance, / and to been under mannes governance," it's clear that she has an understanding of women's place in her society whether she agrees with it or not. Custance isn't one to go against the grain. She'd rather suffer the grain nobly.