The wife of Bath replies to the knight's criticism of her poverty by stating that it is a man's actions and gentle behavioir that makes him a great gentleman, and not his possessions or his social standing. She claims that gentlemanliness cannot be inherited like wealth; even if a man grows up in a household where noble actions are cultivated, he must also act in that manner; even an earl or a duke, she says, may be devoid of a noble heart or gentlemanly manners. And she goes on to remind the knight how Jesus chose to live in poverty while performing noble deeds.