The Wife of Bath describes how she fell in love with Jankyn, despite her opportunity, reveals her softer side. She recognizes that he has used the same tactics against her that she has used against other men in her marriages, but she can't stop herself from wanting him. Alison marries five husbands, which means she has committed adultery and is considered a mortal sin. The ideal marriage of the Church was the marriage contracted before God with witnesses who could attest that the spouses were not relatives. Sexual intercourse was to be performed only to conceive a child as it was believed that devotion to sexual enjoyment would distract people from their obligations to the Church. The marriage was supposed to last forever, until death left the spouses. But she did not keep the commandment and was unfaithful to her