The Ill-Married by Jean de La Fontaine

Name: The Ill-Married
Author: Jean de La Fontaine

The poem tells of a husband whose beautiful wife proves contentious, covetous, jealous, and impossible to please. She criticizes everyone around her: her husband cannot sleep or rise at the right hour, nothing is the right temperature or colour, and her constant complaints drive both servants and husband to despair. Worn down by her reproaches, the husband sends her back to her father’s home, hoping country life, with its dances and farm animals, will soften her temper. When he later asks whether she enjoyed the peace and innocence of rural life, she answers that she found plenty of fault there as well. She rebuked the men for neglecting the flocks and earned their hatred, though she claims not to care. Convinced that she remains as harsh and virulent as before, the husband tells her that if people who see her only briefly are already weary of her, his servants and he himself must suffer far more. He orders her to return to her father and declares that, if he ever calls for her again or wishes for such a wife, Heaven may punish him with two wives like her forever.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1678 · Genre: Fable, Satire, Narrative Poetry · 787 words

First lines

If worth, were not a thing more rare / Than beauty in this planet fair, / There would be then less need of care / About the contracts Hymen closes. / But beauty often is the bait / To love that only ends in hate; / And many hence repent too late / Of wedding thorns from wooing roses.[1] / My tale makes one of these poor fellows, / Who sought relief from marriage vows, / Send back again his tedious spouse, / Contentious, covetous, and jealous, / With nothing pleased or satisfied, / This restless, comfort-killing bride / Some fault in every one descried. / Her good man went to bed too soon, / Or lay in bed till almost noon. / Too cold, too hot, -- too black, too white, -- / Were on her tongue from morn till night. / The servants mad and madder grew; / The husband knew not what to do. / 'Twas, 'Dear, you never think or care; ' / And, 'Dear, that price we cannot bear; ' / And, 'Dear, you never stay at home; ' / And, 'Dear, I wish you would just come; ' / Till, finally, such ceaseless dearing / Upon her husband's patience wearing, / Back to her sire's he sent his wife, / To taste the sweets of country life, / To dance at will the country jigs, / And feed the turkeys, geese, and pigs. / In course of time, he hoped his bride / Might have her temper mollified; / Which hope he duly put to test. / His wife recall'd, said he, / 'How went with you your rural rest, / From vexing cares and fashions free? / Its peace and quiet did you gain, -- / Its innocence without a stain? ' / 'Enough of all,' said she; 'but then / To see those idle, worthless men / Neglect the flocks, it gave me pain. / I told them, plainly, what I thought, / And thus their hatred quickly bought; / For which I do not care -- not I. ' / 'Ah, madam,' did her spouse reply, / 'If still your temper's so morose, / And tongue so virulent, that those / Who only see you morn and night / Are quite grown weary of the sight, / What, then, must be your servants' case, / Who needs must see you face to face, / Throughout the day? / And what must be the harder lot / Of him, I pray, / Whose days and nights / With you must be by marriage rights? / Return you to your father's cot. / If I recall you in my life, / Or even wish for such a wife, / Let Heaven, in my hereafter, send / Two such, to tease me without end!'

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Similar titles

Genres

Fable — The poem presents a short illustrative narrative designed to convey a moral lesson: marriage requires prudence, good temper, and realistic judgment.
Satire — La Fontaine humorously and critically exaggerates the wife's fault-finding, jealousy, and contentiousness to ridicule domestic discord and imprudent marital choices.
Narrative Poetry — The work tells a complete story in verse, with a narrator, characters, dialogue, action, and a concluding judgment.
Didactic Literature — Its opening reflection and cautionary plot explicitly instruct readers about the dangers of valuing beauty over character in choosing a spouse.

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The Ill-Married is listed on Textopian as a fable by Jean de La Fontaine, dated 1678 CE.

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Work type: Fable
Author: Jean de La Fontaine
Date: 1678 CE
Language: English
Genres: Fable, Satire, Narrative Poetry, Didactic Literature, Domestic Comedy
Length: 787 words
Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

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