Wife of Bath's Tale

In the Wife of Bath's Tale, the knight's wife gives him the option to have an old, ugly wife that will be true to him, or a young, pretty wife that will be unfaithful. However, he gives her the power to choose, inherently giving her a degree of sovereignty in the relationship. As a reward, she turns into a young, beautiful woman and they live happily ever after. The idea that the correct answer to the wife's question was not to answer, but instead let her decide, is reminiscent of  what the Wife of Bath desires in her own marriages: power over her spouse, or at least an equal relationship. However, since the old woman was the only one who knew this, it can be speculated that the majority of people, at least in Chaucer's story, aren't aware of what women want in marriages, and therefore many wives may have been unhappy. 

The Witch posing as an old woman to test the Prince's kindness. From Disney's Beauty and the Beast (disney.wikia.com).