<P> The tale is often regarded as the first of the so - called `` marriage group '' of tales , which includes the Clerk 's , the Merchant 's and the Franklin 's tales . But some scholars contest this grouping , first proposed by Chaucer scholar Eleanor Prescott Hammond and subsequently elaborated by George Lyman Kittredge , not least because the later tales of Melibee and the Nun 's Priest also discuss this theme . A separation between tales that deal with moral issues and ones that deal with magical issues , as the Wife of Bath 's does , is favoured by some scholars . </P>
what is the marriage group in canterbury tales
the Clerk 's the Merchant 's the Franklin 's tales