The Afterlife of the Wife of Beth

Chaucer talked about her as a character beyond the bounds of the tales after they were first published. You really have the sense that Chaucer himself has created a character that sort of exceeds him in a way exceeds what he had planned for her. It's kind of extraordinary to go from, you know, almost the day he wrote it, and 600 years later, you can buy her soap and her Cheese.