There was an old fairy tale I remember reading as a kid, where a man married a woman who was under a curse which made her 'ugly" for 12 hours of each day. The wife told him to choose which time she was to be hideous, by day or by night.
He chose day first, so that she might be decently treated by their neighbors and all the other townspeople.
The wife berated him for being willing to sleep beside a “monstrosity.”
So the husband changed his mind and said that the wife should be hideous by day, so that they could enjoy each other’s company at night.
Again, the wife berated him, calling his reasoning selfish.
Finally the husband conceded that his wife must choose for herself which option would make her most content, and the spell was instantly broken.
Why? Because he had given his wife what every woman wants; the ability to decide her own fate.
ETA:
Since I couldn’t remember what book this was, other than the main synopsis I did a quick query.
Turns out it was Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady:
