My Favourite Past Life

—How a literate medieval barmaid at the Tabard Inn helped shape literature’s most independent woman.

by Marilyn Myerson

Gather round, dear folks, and I shall tell you a story guaranteed to at least amuse and, I dare say, even delight you.

I’ve had quite the variety of past lives (future lives as well, of course, but that’s a subject for another time). I have been invited here today to talk specifically about my favourite past life; that is not going to be easy.I could choose among my adventures a granny midwife to a Japanese empress, or a medieval scribe, or yoga instructors too numerous to count. And then there was my life as an early mammal, scurrying to keep out of the way of the dinosaurs before the Great Extinction ended their reign, and we evolved and took over… and might yet blow it all up… Or I could regale you with my past lives as a sun which got swallowed up by our Sol, or when I was the curse placed on the Hope Diamond, an unearned demotion from my gig as Tut’s curse.

But I can sense you’re getting restless, so yes I will get to the point.

Might you remember Geoffrey Chaucer and his famous Tales? No, no, rest assured, I was not him. Rather, I was a barmaid at the Tabard Inn in south London, one of the taverns he frequented. He would perch there, at his favourite corner table from which he could view all manners of comings and goings, with his oversized tankards of ale and his quill pen which he would invariably chew on so that his full lips were perennially blue.

Life as a barmaid was never easy. Long hours, aching feet, being alert at all times for the barkeep’s wandering hands. I was born into a family of scrappy farming folk. We had little money and whatever extra there was went for my brother’s schooling. Happily he shared his learning with me and I could read! Some thought me a witch because of my ability, thus I also learned to keep quiet and not flaunt my scholarly use of words. But Mr. Chaucer knew and he would secretly ask me to read his scribbles as he wrote. His nigh unto illegible writing taxed my abilities but I persevered. He requested my straightforward opinion and, Lordy, did I give it to him!

My biggest contribution was to the tale of Alysoun, the Wife of Bath, a genuine character. Chaucer’s original depiction was of a wealthy, independent woman, who had been married five times but did not have much to say. Oh, I said, she needs to be given her due, to be fleshed out! So we worked on the Prologue to her Tale, illustrating her character and her views, delightfully unconventional as they were. She understood the roots of women’s unhappy standing; she laid bare the problems with double standards for the sexes, and embraced the potential and desires of women. Under my tutelage, Chaucer drew her as a lusty, fully embodied character. I fancied that she was me and I was her, inseparable. I often still dream of our double existence, truly my favourite past!

Marilyn Myerson, Ph. D, Philosophy, has learned to take nothing for granted and to embrace the power of whimsy. Marilyn was the first outside hire in what is now the USF Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, starting in 1973, when it was just one year old. She was an administrator at various departmental and deans’ levels before her retirement as Emeritus faculty in 2010. She shepherded the Human Sexual Behavior class through its many incarnations, developed the original women’s health classes, and taught feminist research methods. She is happily involved with OLLI-USF, having taken painting and writing courses. She created and frequently teaches Imaginative Writing classes and facilitates the Imaginative Crew and several other writing groups.