NovelGuide: The Canterbury Tales: Novel Summary: The Franklin's Tale

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The Franklin's Tale

A knight loved a young lady, and she agreed to marry him.  They lived happily and discreetly for many years, until he moved away to live in England for two years, on a business trip.  His wife, Dorigen, was heartsick and wished to kill herself because she was so unhappy away from her husband.  She eventually became happier, and left most of her grief, and waited for her husband to return after news that he was well.  He had not returned, and she was still unhappy, when a friend of her husband, Aurelius, declared his unrequited love.  She did not want to consent to his wishes, but she cared for him as a friend, and so she told him that she would love him if he could clear the coast of the country from all rocks. 
Aurelius prayed to god, and exhausted himself crying near the coast.  Dorigen's husband returns, and they are happy again.  Aurelius with the help of his brother starts to search for a scientist who could remove the rocks so he could win Dorigen.  He finds a scholar from Breton who agrees to remove the rocks.  Aurelius finds Dorigen, shows her what he has done, and asks for fulfillment of her promise.  She does not want to fulfill it, but she does not want to break her word.  She starts to think that suicide is her only option.  She decides to tell her husband, and he gives her his permission to keep her word.  She comes across Aurelius while walking through the town, and when she tells him that he has succeeded, he cancels her debt and tells her that she is released from her promise.  Joyfully, she returns to her husband, and they live happily ever after.
Aurelius returns to pay the scholar who helped him, as he had promised, but the scholar also waives his debt because he was not successful in winning Dorigen.