Reading Check – (a) How does the queen respond to the knight’s plea for mercy?

2. Reading Check – (a) How does the queen respond to the knight’s plea for mercy? (b) What key information does the old woman provide to the knight? (c) What becomes of the old woman at the end of the story? Answer: In response to the knight’s pleading for compassion, the queen asks him a question that, if answered right in a year and a day, will result in his life being spared ( lines 50-51, page 58 online ). The elderly woman gives the knight the response to the question posed by the queen, namely that women desire equal authority over their husbands ( lines 184-186, page 58 online ). At the conclusion of the tale, the elderly woman marries the knight and changes into a stunning but devoted woman ( lines 386-387, page 58 online ).