Does the knight gain understanding of women over the course of the story, or is he essentially the same as he was at the beginning?

The Knight seemed to gained understanding of women by the end of the story for he learned to trust his wife's judgement and thus get himself not only a beautiful wife but also a faithful one.

Explanation:

Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" is a collection of tales told by the pilgrims on their way to Canterbury. One of these included "The Wife of Bath's Tale". This Wife of Bath's tale tells the story of how men in general were sent to women as husbands to obey and submit to their wives.

The young but lusty knight in the tale had been found guilty of ra pe and was tasked with searching for an answer of what women want the most in the world. When he met the old and ugly woman, he got the answer from her but also had to marry her in exchange for the answer. When he told the answer "that women want authority over men" as the right answer, he was right and married her. But he wasn't attracted to her at all. The night she asked him why he was sad, he told her that it's because he did not love her and that he can't stay married to such an ugly wife. But when she asked her what he would rather choose - a faithful but ugly wife or a beautiful yet cheating wife, he decided to follow the answer he had given to the queen. This wise answer led to the wife changing into a beautiful woman and also a faithful one too. Thus, we can conclude that the knight had gained understanding of women over the course of the story.