Marriage Group: A term coined by George L. Kittredge in 1912 to describe a specific set of stories in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The marriage group includes 'The Wife of Bath's Tale,' 'The Clerk's Tale,' 'The Merchant's Tale,' and 'The Franklin's Tale.' All four narratives deal with the question of the proper relationship between men and women in marriage. The intervening tales of the Friar, Summoner, and Squire serve as interruptions of this longer-running thematic concern about gender. Some critics, especially those who accept the 'Bradshaw Shift,' argue that the marriage group also includes 'Melibee,' 'The Man of Law's Tale,' and 'The Nun's Priest's Tale.'

 

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