The Merchant In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
Anushay Afnan
Professor Taylor
Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales
November 2, 2015
The Merchant’s Tale Chaucer describes the Merchant as a well-dressed, yet exotic businessman, a successful financial expert, and a very unhappy husband. Most people would agree that there is no textual evidence to support that the Merchant is a cuckold or that January, the main character in the tale is a mirror of his own character. However, both the Merchant and January have disillusioned views and experiences regarding marriage.
The Merchant in the fourteenth century, as Chaucer has described him was a very familiar and well-known figure. In the general prologue, the character was described as,
A Marchant was ther with a forked berd
In mottelee, and hye on …show more content…
In a way, the merchant is blind, January is certainly blind, and one can argue that May is blind—however, the audience is not. The Merchant is an active participant in January’s blindness because it is his perceptions that created January’s. May is blind as a result of the lack of character she is given by both the Merchant and Chaucer and her only opinions are the few times she is able to speak in the text. Even though as a reader, it is so obvious the extent to which the Merchant is talking about his own marriage in the tale, he makes it a point to tell us that that it is not autobiographical. He says, “of myn owene soore, For soory herte, I telle may namoor” (II. 1243-4). This is a line from the prologue that implies the admittance of the Merchant’s marital difficulties that show the audience that they should regard January’s marriage to May as the Merchant’s sentiments on the idea of matrimony. I found myself thinking that the Merchant is somewhat misogynistic which may be a product of his disillusionment to marriage. We can draw a comparison between his misery and hatred to buying a bad product or becoming victims to false advertising. One could say that he bought more than he bargained for when he began his own marriage. Perhaps, in this tale, May does not represent the Merchant’s wife, but she does …show more content…
If we as readers decide to trust this tale, we are able to textually infer that the Merchant hates women and that his tale might not be as credible as it is described to be. The Merchant’s blindness however, in an unconscious choice because he doesn’t recognize it himself and therefore will remain blind. In this way the pilgrims as well as the readers of this tale will not be able to evaluate the Merchant’s character because he leaves out the details of his own short marriage. This ties in to the idea that Chaucer has been playing with throughout the Canterbury Tales about the relationship between appearance and worth. The Merchant presents this tale thinking his cynicism would not carry through, but he doesn’t realize the difference between what his words are saying and how close to reality they actually
Professor Taylor
Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales
November 2, 2015
The Merchant’s Tale Chaucer describes the Merchant as a well-dressed, yet exotic businessman, a successful financial expert, and a very unhappy husband. Most people would agree that there is no textual evidence to support that the Merchant is a cuckold or that January, the main character in the tale is a mirror of his own character. However, both the Merchant and January have disillusioned views and experiences regarding marriage.
The Merchant in the fourteenth century, as Chaucer has described him was a very familiar and well-known figure. In the general prologue, the character was described as,
A Marchant was ther with a forked berd
In mottelee, and hye on …show more content…
In a way, the merchant is blind, January is certainly blind, and one can argue that May is blind—however, the audience is not. The Merchant is an active participant in January’s blindness because it is his perceptions that created January’s. May is blind as a result of the lack of character she is given by both the Merchant and Chaucer and her only opinions are the few times she is able to speak in the text. Even though as a reader, it is so obvious the extent to which the Merchant is talking about his own marriage in the tale, he makes it a point to tell us that that it is not autobiographical. He says, “of myn owene soore, For soory herte, I telle may namoor” (II. 1243-4). This is a line from the prologue that implies the admittance of the Merchant’s marital difficulties that show the audience that they should regard January’s marriage to May as the Merchant’s sentiments on the idea of matrimony. I found myself thinking that the Merchant is somewhat misogynistic which may be a product of his disillusionment to marriage. We can draw a comparison between his misery and hatred to buying a bad product or becoming victims to false advertising. One could say that he bought more than he bargained for when he began his own marriage. Perhaps, in this tale, May does not represent the Merchant’s wife, but she does …show more content…
If we as readers decide to trust this tale, we are able to textually infer that the Merchant hates women and that his tale might not be as credible as it is described to be. The Merchant’s blindness however, in an unconscious choice because he doesn’t recognize it himself and therefore will remain blind. In this way the pilgrims as well as the readers of this tale will not be able to evaluate the Merchant’s character because he leaves out the details of his own short marriage. This ties in to the idea that Chaucer has been playing with throughout the Canterbury Tales about the relationship between appearance and worth. The Merchant presents this tale thinking his cynicism would not carry through, but he doesn’t realize the difference between what his words are saying and how close to reality they actually