It’s between me, the sand and the sea 

I was in a call about wind farms today and I was losing it. And some of my female colleagues were very excited too. And I thought: you see women don’t want handsome princes (some might do!). Women want wind farms! (Okay, only some do 😉). But in all seriousness it might be time to quote Geoffrey Chaucer and the wife of bath’s tale from the Canterbury tale. A knight does something terrible to a woman 

And he is sentenced to death. But they take pity on him. He will be pardoned if he can answer the question: what do women want? He is given a year to answer the question and if he can’t he will be executed. He travels the land but every woman gives him a different answer. The beautiful maiden wants to be wed. The mother of 5 wants some peace and quiet. The elderly lady wants some strength and energy. He despairs and he writes all the answers in a big book. In his grief as the year comes to a close he sits and cries. A woman approaches him

And asks him what is wrong. He explains that tomorrow he will be slain if he does not answer the riddle. He looks up and sees that she is the ugliest woman he has ever seen in his life. Everything about her is unattractive and undesirable to him

She asks him what the riddle is. He tells her. She tells him that that is easy and that she knows the answer

„What do you want in return?” He asks.

„Only your hand in marriage.” She replies 

The knight does not want to spend the rest his life with this repulsive creature, but what choice does he have? The next morning on the last day they are wed. He asks her what the answer is and she replies:

„What women want is sovereignty. The power to create her own path through life.” 

And so it is. Some want beauty, some want peace, some want freedom. 

But we all want to be able to make our own choices.

Always. The knight gallops off to tell the king and queen his answer. He is indeed right and he is pardoned. But he feels compelled to return to his new wife. There he finds her waiting behind the curtains in their new bed

„Oh husband,” she calls out, „won’t you join me for our wedding night?”. The knight hesitates. He feels sick. He cannot bear to lay down with this repulsive creature. Shaking and shivering he opens the curtains. And there he sees the most beautiful woman he has ever seen in his life. She is the most beautiful and appealing creature he has ever seen. 

Everything about her is desirable. He can scarcely believe his eyes. She is perfect. He cries out in disbelief

„Who are you!”

„Husband it is I! 

A terrible curse was placed on me that I should be ugly until the day I was wed. But now you must choose. I can either be beautiful in the day and ugly by night or ugly by day and beautiful by night. What do you choose?”

„That’s easy,” the knight replied. „You can be beautiful by day and ugly by night.” 

„Ah then!” Replied the wife. „You will lie with such a horrible creature by night?”

„Well then you shall be ugly by day and beautiful by night.” 

„And what will they say about you on the streets? You will be shamed by all as the man who lives with the ugly woman!”

„Well I don’t know then! You decide! You’re the one who has to live with it anyway.”

The wife smiled. It was a beautiful smile

„Ah well in that case you have just broken the second half of the curse. And that was to give me my choice back. And I choose to be beautiful by day and beautiful by night”. And thus she was.

***

Beautiful by day and beautiful by night 

And according to a book I read when I was a teenager this story symbolises women asserting themselves. We can ask for what we need and still be kind

We can express our feelings and still not hurt others

We can say what we need to say and still be respectful

Beautiful by day

Beautiful by night 

Always beautiful

Thank you

„And she’s in my dreams… into the mist, into the clouds”.