Zusammenfassung der Ressource
The Merchant's Tale
- Presentation of women
- 'shrew et al' p15
- animal imagery
- aggressive/disrespectful of women by Merchant
- Blindness and Seeing
- January's physical blindness is
representative of January's
blindness to May's deceit due
to his own idealistic view of
what he wants in a wife
- truductio
- ways in which he is blind
- perception of marriage/perfect wife
- lines 95-170
- 'so buxom and so vertuous is she'
- irony- wives expected to be obedient whilst also having
attractive physical traits, BUT also expected to have
higher moral standards 'vertuous'
- ironic because whilst men are objectifying
women and caring more for their looks (being
shallow- see the description of the Merchant),
women are expected to be principled and
morally correct
- Virgin Mary - juxtoposition - flawed religion
- 'a wyf is Goddes
gifte verraily,'
- irony- Merchant's
dissatisfaction is
evident here
- 'forth comth the preest, with
stole aboute his nekke, and bad
hire be lyk Sarra and Rebekke,'
l490
- dramatic irony- audience will see that
January is misguided on his
perception of marriage as Sarra and
Rebekka are deceitful women
- 'And eek thise olde wydwes, God it
woot, They konne so muchel craft
on Wades boot,' l211
- old women aren't
as naive as young
hence why he
wants a younger
wife
- IRONY- May ends up deceiving
Januarie, thus presents him as
naive to the strengths of
women
- Physical blindness-
punishment for moral
blindness?
- 'is woxen blynd, and that al
sodeynly He wepeth and he wayleth
pituously,'l860
- pathos
- he has achieved
a young wife
but is still
unhappy
- connects the physical
faculty of sight with
moral and spiritual
vision
- 'For love is blynde
alday, and may nat
see.' 386
- foreshadowing the fact Januarie ends u p bl;inde
- KEY QUOTE
- 'For as good is blind deceyved
be, as to be deceyved whan a
man may see,' l 898
- when January
could physically
see he was
morally blind
- Gender
- tale voices hatred towards
deceitful women in marriage
and the expectations they
should abide by- The Goodman
of Paris
- Merchant- hateful
towards women due to
his own unhappy
marriage
- 'true servant does more
diligence,' l86
- highlights unrealistic
expectations of women in
middle ages as it suggests
the perfect wife can be
likened to a servant.
- CONTEXT: The Goodman
of Paris- older man wrote
for his younger wife
detailing her on wifely
conduct suggesting she
observe his lap-dog and
copy its behaviour,
keeping close to the man
who provides her with
food and shelter, even if
he mistreats her
- 'In libertee and eek in
mariage,' l514
- Wedding Feast
- depicts marriage as a
trap as it juxtoposes
marriage with freedom
- 'forth comth the preest, with
stole aboute his nekke, and
bad hire be lyk Sarra and
Rebekke,' l491/2
- rhyming couplet
- religious imagery-
deceitful
women/mockery of
religion
- dramatic irony- audience will
see that January is misguided-
perhaps voice of Chaucer
presenting his distaste for the
flaws regarding religion.
- 'Heere may ye se how
excellent franchise In
wommen is, whan they
hem narwe avyse,' l775
- Merchant depicted as
naive narrator
- indirectly criticising May
for being unfaithful but
depicting her as
generous
- medieval society
ultimately
patriarchal
- as a result presents an
unrealistic expectation of
what is necessary for the
ideal wife
- 'Yong wyf and a feir,'
- female image of
perfection and
the normality of
needing to
control/tame
your wife
- Men
- References to food
- 'followed ay his bodily delyt on
wommen, ther as was his
appetyt,' l38
- rhyming couplet- appetite has
connotations of greed and longing
suggesting women fulfilling his
sexual desire is necessary for him
- Juxtoposes with
comparing the single life
- '"noon other lyf,"
seyde he, "is worth
a bene,"
- bathos- even though he is suggesting an
unmarried life is an unfulfilled life the
audience understands that the satisfaction
that comes with fulfilling your sexual desires
is one in which Januarie considers sacred, and
views women as a way in which to satisfy his
hunger/needs
- therfore, through this use of
food imagery we understand
that women, for this reason, are
indeed very important to
Januarie, despite if he attempts
to suggest otherwise.
- older women described as, 'forage,'
- CONTEXT: January is season of feasting.
When he fantasises about his ideal wife,
the images focus on food, an important
aspect of the wedding ceremony and
wealth.
- Marriage
- January presented as
predatory towards
women
- 'oold fish and yong flessh
wolde I have fayn,'
- animal imagery
- reveals his lack of
knowledge regarding
women despite his array
of past sexual
relationships
- CONTEXT: January can be seen as
senex amans (old man lover)
who is a conventional
burlesque figure in
anti-feminist literature
- justifications
of rape in
marriage
- 'A man may do no synne with his
wyf, Ne hurte hymselven with
his owene knyf,' '628
- rhyming couplet
- highlights ridiculousness
of his
justification/suggestion-
hyperbolic
- CONTEXT: Modern audience
shocked but perhaps considered
more commonly practiced in
middle ages
- religion used for immoral purposes
- Need to
manipulate/control
women
- 'But certeynly, a yong thing may men
gye Right as men may warm wex
with handes pley,'219
- metaphor for being able to
manipulate young women. Januarie
subject to mockery here
- 'that woot namoore of
it than woot my page,'
232
- naivity/irony, speaking of his
servant who knows little
however ends up tainting his
own marriage
- Naivity can ultimately be
interpreted as his downfall or
his saviour
- causes him to believe
May's child is his own,
thus allowing him to
achieve his goal of
having an heir
- 'and on hire wombe
he stroketh hir ful
softe,'
- Women
- May trapped in her
marriage but schemes
around it to fulful her
own desires.
- in libertee and eek in mariage,'
- inbalance of
relationship
highlighted
- 'to kepe hym, syk and
hool,' l77
- juxtoposition highlights
the difference between
him and her
- CONTEXT: Connotations of
traditional Christian marriage.
Lacks freedom January has
regarding his marriage.
- 'be wedded whanne
hym liste and where
he wolde,'
- 'Abedde as
stille as
stoon,' l606
- rigid in
fear/depicted as
reluctant (simile)
- cold towards him
- parallels with
comparing January as a
stone
- 'blynde as is a
stoon,' 844
- simile- signifies
change in power in
the relationship as
May takes matters
into jer own hands,
Januarie is oblivious
- Marriage is a
business
arrangement
- CONTEXT: Chaucer's day, marriage was
rarely undertaken for love and was least
likely to be amongst the upper classes
who needed to consolidate their title,
lands and wealth.
- 'every scrit and bond,' p47
- suggests that the ceremony/vows
themselves are of little
importance to Januarie (legal
ceremony as opposed to one
derived from love.)
- CONTEXT: once married,
a woman has the same
legal status as her
husband's domestic
animals
- treated as a
possession
- 'thikke brustles of
his berd unsoften,'
l611
- grotesque imagery
- 'Allas! I moot trespace,' l616
- connotations
of trespass
- invasive
- CONTEXT: provides insight
into medieval treatment of
women
- 'His fresshe May, his paradys,
his make,'l610
- repeated use of
possessive pronoun,
'his,'
- May is an object to Januarie
- draws attention to his sexual motives