Herein the Knight is sagacious and moderate, much of his advice is admirably sound for every age.

He is less concerned with affirming the authority of husbands than with assuring the happiness and well-being of his dearly loved daughters.
But he clearly finds this bound up with the recognition of the authority of the husband, and the demands he makes are fairly concordant with the relationships we see established among the Pastons.

The Knight abounds in illustrations, from Lot's daughters down to his own time, for the example or the warning of his daughters.

The ideal he holds up to them is strictly domestic and in a sense conventional.

He puts the matter on practical rather than religious or legal grounds, and his fundamental assumption is "that no woman ought ever to thwart or refuse to obey the ordinance of her lord; that is, if she is either desirous to be mistress of his affections or to have peace and understanding in the house.